Abstract
Humans are reliant on their caregivers for an extended period of time, offering numerous opportunities for environmental factors, such as parental attitudes and behaviors, to impact brain development. The default mode network is a neural system encompassing the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and temporo-parietal junction, which is implicated in aspects of cognition and psychopathology. Delayed default mode network maturation in children and adolescents has been associated with greater general dimensional psychopathology, and positive parenting behaviors have been suggested to serve as protective mechanisms against atypical default mode network development. The current study aimed to extend the existing research by examining whether within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity would mediate the relation between parental acceptance/warmth and youth psychopathology. Data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study, which included a community sample of 9,058 children ages 9-10.9 years, were analyzed to test this prediction. Results from the analysis demonstrated a significant mediation, where greater parental acceptance/warmth predicted greater within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity, which in turn predicted lower psychopathology. Our study provides preliminary support for the notion that positive parenting traits may reduce the risk for psychopathology in youth through their influence on the default mode network. Due to the cross-sectional nature of this study, we can only draw correlational inference; therefore, these relationships should be tested longitudinally in future investigations.
Resting State Functional Connectivity in the Default Mode Network: Relationships Between Cannabis Use, Gender, and Cognition in Adolescents and Young Adults
