Adversity is Linked with Decreased Parent-Child Behavioral and Neural Synchrony

Abstract While substantial research supports the role of parent–child interactions on the emergence of psychiatric symptoms, few studies have explored biological mechanisms for this association. The current study explored behavioral and neural parent–child synchronization during frustration and play as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behaviors across a span of 1.5 years. Parent–child dyads first came to the laboratory when the child was 4–5 years old and completed the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule: Biological Synchrony (DB-DOS: BioSync) task while functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data were recorded. Parents reported on their child's internalizing and externalizing behaviors using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) four times over 1.5 years. Latent growth curve (LGC) modeling was conducted to assess neural and behavioral synchrony as predictors of internalizing and externalizing trajectories. Consistent with previous investigations in this age range, on average, internalizing and externalizing behaviors decreased over the four time points. Parent–child neural synchrony during a period of play predicted rate of change in internalizing but not externalizing behaviors such that higher parent–child neural synchrony was associated with a more rapid decrease in internalizing behaviors. Our results suggest that a parent–child dyad's ability to coordinate neural activation during positive interactions might serve as a protective mechanism in the context of internalizing behaviors.

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Neural synchrony in mother–child conversation: Exploring the role of conversation patterns

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsaa079 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Trinh Nguyen ◽

Hanna Schleihauf ◽

Ezgi Kayhan ◽

Daniel Matthes ◽

Pascal Vrtička ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Family Environment ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Neural Synchrony ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Neural Synchronization ◽

Turn Taking ◽

Over Time ◽

Parent Child

Abstract Conversations are an essential form of communication in daily family life. Specific patterns of caregiver–child conversations have been linked to children’s socio-cognitive development and child-relationship quality beyond the immediate family environment. Recently, interpersonal neural synchronization has been proposed as a neural mechanism supporting conversation. Here, we present a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning study looking at the temporal dynamics of neural synchrony during mother–child conversation. Preschoolers (20 boys and 20 girls, M age 5;07 years) and their mothers (M age 36.37 years) were tested simultaneously with fNIRS hyperscanning while engaging in a free verbal conversation lasting for 4 min. Neural synchrony (using wavelet transform coherence analysis) was assessed over time. Furthermore, each conversational turn was coded for conversation patterns comprising turn-taking, relevance, contingency and intrusiveness. Results from linear mixed-effects modeling revealed that turn-taking, but not relevance, contingency or intrusiveness predicted neural synchronization during the conversation over time. Results are discussed to point out possible variables affecting parent–child conversation quality and the potential functional role of interpersonal neural synchronization for parent–child conversation.

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Parental frontal brain activity tracks infants’ attention during shared play

10.31234/osf.io/u84dj ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sam Wass ◽

Ira Marriott Haresign ◽

Megan Whitehorn ◽

Kaili Clackson ◽

Stanimira Georgieva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Activity ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Oscillatory Activity ◽

Neural Synchrony ◽

Child Play ◽

Frontal Brain ◽

Time Lagged ◽

Parent Child

Previous research has suggested that similar patterns of neural activity occur between watching someone else perform an action and performing it oneself. Here, we demonstrate a comparable phenomenon: that, while engaged in free-flowing naturalistic parent-child play, parents’ oscillatory activity recorded over frontal areas co-varies with their infants’ attention patterns, independent of their own attention patterns. We also found weaker evidence for the opposite relationship: that infants’ brain activity tracks adults’ attention. We demonstrate this by recording dual EEG in 12-month-old infants and their parents while they were engaged in joint and solo tabletop play with toys, and analysing the time-lagged temporal associations between infants’ attention towards play objects and adults’ neural activity, and vice versa. We discuss how these inter-dyadic brain-behaviour correspondences relate to actor-observer relationships previously been documented, and consider their role as drivers of inter-personal neural synchrony.

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Parent–child neural synchrony: a novel approach to elucidating dyadic correlates of preschool irritability

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry ◽

10.1111/jcpp.13165 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 61 (11) ◽

pp. 1213-1223 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Laura E. Quiñones‐Camacho ◽

Frank A. Fishburn ◽

M. Catalina Camacho ◽

Christina O. Hlutkowsky ◽

Theodore J. Huppert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Synchrony ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Parent Child

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A Guide to Parent-Child fNIRS Hyperscanning Data Processing and Analysis

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21124075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (12) ◽

pp. 4075

Author(s):

Trinh Nguyen ◽

Stefanie Hoehl ◽

Pascal Vrtička

Keyword(s):

Mixed Models ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Generalized Linear Mixed Models ◽

Neural Synchrony ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Wavelet Transform Coherence ◽

Pair Analysis ◽

Random Pair ◽

Problem Solving Task ◽

Parent Child

The use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning during naturalistic interactions in parent–child dyads has substantially advanced our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of human social interaction. However, despite the rise of developmental hyperscanning studies over the last years, analysis procedures have not yet been standardized and are often individually developed by each research team. This article offers a guide on parent–child fNIRS hyperscanning data analysis in MATLAB and R. We provide an example dataset of 20 dyads assessed during a cooperative versus individual problem-solving task, with brain signal acquired using 16 channels located over bilateral frontal and temporo-parietal areas. We use MATLAB toolboxes Homer2 and SPM for fNIRS to preprocess the acquired brain signal data and suggest a standardized procedure. Next, we calculate interpersonal neural synchrony between dyads using Wavelet Transform Coherence (WTC) and illustrate how to run a random pair analysis to control for spurious correlations in the signal. We then use RStudio to estimate Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) to account for the bounded distribution of coherence values for interpersonal neural synchrony analyses. With this guide, we hope to offer advice for future parent–child fNIRS hyperscanning investigations and to enhance replicability within the field.

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A Guide to Parent-Child fNIRS Hyperscanning Data Analysis

10.31234/osf.io/dr84h ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Trinh Nguyen ◽

Stefanie Hoehl ◽

Pascal Vrticka

Keyword(s):

Data Analysis ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Neural Synchrony ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Wavelet Transform Coherence ◽

Pair Analysis ◽

Random Pair ◽

Problem Solving Task ◽

Parent Child

The use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning during naturalistic interactions in parent-child dyads has substantially advanced our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of human social interaction. However, despite the rise of developmental hyperscanning studies over the last years, analysis procedures have not yet been standardized and are often individually developed by each research team. This article offers a guide on parent-child fNIRS hyperscanning data analysis in MATLAB and R. We provide an exemplary dataset of 20 dyads assessed during a cooperative versus individual problem-solving task, with brain activity measured using 16 channels located over bilateral frontal and temporo-parietal areas. We use MATLAB toolboxes Homer2 and SPM for fNIRS to preprocess the acquired data, and suggest a standardized procedure previously employed in several publications. Next, we calculate interpersonal neural synchrony between dyads using Wavelet Transform Coherence (WTC) and illustrate how to run a random pair analysis to control for spurious correlations in the signal. We then use RStudio to estimate Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) to account for the bounded distribution of coherence values for interpersonal neural synchrony analyses. With this guide, we hope to offer advice for future parent-child fNIRS hyperscanning investigations and to enhance replicability within the field.

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A Pilot Study of Early Storybook Reading With Babies With Hearing Loss

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-l-17-0305 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (9) ◽

pp. 3397-3412

Author(s):

Michelle I. Brown ◽

David Trembath ◽

Marleen F. Westerveld ◽

Gail T. Gillon

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Visual Analysis ◽

Single Case ◽

Eye Contact ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Storybook Reading ◽

Book Selection ◽

Turn Taking ◽

Parent Child

Purpose This pilot study explored the effectiveness of an early storybook reading (ESR) intervention for parents with babies with hearing loss (HL) for improving (a) parents' book selection skills, (b) parent–child eye contact, and (c) parent–child turn-taking. Advancing research into ESR, this study examined whether the benefits from an ESR intervention reported for babies without HL were also observed in babies with HL. Method Four mother–baby dyads participated in a multiple baseline single-case experimental design across behaviors. Treatment effects for parents' book selection skills, parent–child eye contact, and parent–child turn-taking were examined using visual analysis and Tau-U analysis. Results Statistically significant increases, with large to very large effect sizes, were observed for all 4 participants for parent–child eye contact and parent–child turn-taking. Limited improvements with ceiling effects were observed for parents' book selection skills. Conclusion The findings provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of an ESR intervention for babies with HL for promoting parent–child interactions through eye contact and turn-taking.

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