A dynamical systems interpretation of epigenetic landscapes for infant motor development

This paper presents a unified dynamical systems theory of motor learning and development and addresses the normative order and timing of activities in the infant motor development sequence. The emphasis is on the role of intention in modulating the epigenetic landscapes to the emerging forms of infant motor development and how the evolution of attractor landscape dynamics in infancy arises from the multiple time scales of constraints to action. The development of prone progression in infancy is exemplified as a case study and experimental hypotheses of the theory of attractor landscape dynamics and infant motor development are provided.     

Expressive development and basic emotions

Abstract

One important emotion theory currently postulates an innate tie between specific infant facial expressions and a set of discrete basic emotions. The arguments and evidence relevant to this assertion are reviewed. New data are presented from a naturalistic study of one infant's early expressive development and a judgement study of infant facial, vocal, and body activity. These data challenge the innate tie hypothesis. Based on dynamical systems systems theory, an alternate conceptual framework is presented that may allow us to usefully retain the concept of basic emotions while accommodating the data on infant expressive development.     

WHEN INFANTS GROW UP IN MULTIPERSON RELATIONSHIP SYSTEMS

Despite prompts from the field of family therapy since its inception, contemporary infant mental health theory and practice remain firmly rooted in and guided by dyadic-based models. Over the past 10 years, a groundswell of new empirical studies of triadic and family group dynamics during infancy have substantiated that which family theory has contended for decades: looking beyond mother-infant or father-infant dyads reveals a myriad of critically important socialization influences and dynamics that are missed altogether when relying on informant reports or dyad-based interactions. Such family-level dynamics emerge within months after infants are born, show coherence through time, and influence the social and emotional adjustment of children as early as the toddler and preschool years. This report summarizes key findings from the past decade of empirical family studies, highlights several areas in need of further conceptual development and empirical study by those who work with infants and their families, and outlines important implications of this body of work for all practicing infant mental health professionals.     

A case study of traumatic stress disorder in a 5‐month‐old infant following surgery

This case study of a 5‐month‐old infant describes the symptoms of trauma following a surgical procedure (cranial remodeling) with short‐term hospital stay. The infant showed a symptomatology similar to that found in other studies of hospitalization during the preverbal period, and fit the diagnosis of traumatic stress disorder according to the DC:0‐3. The therapy was implemented by the parents in consultation with the author. The approach was based on an exposure therapy model (flooding) using a somatic trauma trigger that occurred spontaneously in the context of a normal caretaking routine. The infant was allowed to have a full‐blown emotional response during several treatment sessions. The outcome was positive, with the disappearance of some symptoms of traumatic stress disorder after the first week, and no remaining symptoms after two months. Periodic follow‐up evaluations for one year revealed normal development with no return of symptoms. The symptoms, treatment, and outcomes are discussed in the context of behavioral learning theory and emotional processing theory. The role of crying during flooding therapy is discussed, and an emotional release theory emphasizing the therapeutic value of crying is proposed. Six cautionary guidelines are offered for the use of intense exposure therapy with infants.     

A curvilinear relationship between maternal vocal stimulation and three-month-olds' cognitive processing: A cross-cultural phenomenon

This article presents data from four independent studies on the relationship between quantity of maternal vocal stimulation during naturalistic conditions and 3-month-old infants' cognitive processing, as assessed by the infants' differential vocal responsiveness (DVR) to their mother versus a female stranger. In two of the studies, the subjects were full-term American infants whose parents came from a wide socio-educational and ethnic background. In the third study, the subjects were low-risk preterm infants of White American parents. In the fourth study the subjects were full-term infants in Greece. The results from all four studies showed a curvilinear relationship between DVR and maternal vocal stimulation during naturalistic conditions. High DVR was associated with a mid-level amount of maternal vocal stimulation, whereas low DVR was associated with both least and most maternal vocal stimulation. These studies raise the question of possible adverse effects of social overstimulation on infant development.     

Intersubjectivity,object relations theory,and empirical evidence from mother-infant interactions

The work of John Bowlby and his associates on the development of the infant's attachment to his or her parents in the second half of the first year reflects the fruitfulness of an integration of psychoanalytic insights and empirical research. In line with this approach, this paper considers the mother-infant relationship in the first few months from two perspectives: that of the British School of Object Relations and that of the theory of Intersubjectivity, set out initially within developmental psychology and, more recently, developed within systems theory. These views are considered in the light of evidence from two sources. First, a series of experimental studies is described employing disruptions to both the form and the timing of communication between 6- to 12-week-old infants and their mothers. This work illustrates the sensitivity of young infants to the quality of their interpersonal engagements and, also, the contribution of the infant to the regulation of interactions with others. Second, evidence is presented from a prospective study of the effects of maternal depression in the postnatal period on infant development. This work shows the possible longer term consequences for the infant of early disturbances in the mother-infant relationship. Infants of postnatally depressed women were found to be more insecurely attached to their mothers, were more likely to have mild behavioral problems (especially sleep disturbance), and showed poorer outcome on Object Concept tasks at 18 months. These effects occurred despite the fact that the mother had recovered from depression by 3 months postpartum.     

Sex stereotyping of infants: A review of gender labeling studies

Studies that have addressed the question of whether adults and children respond differently to male and female infants because of actual differences in the infants or because of preconceived sex stereotypes are reviewed, and the overall conclusions from these studies are evaluated. Twenty-three studies were identified in which neutrally clothed infant stimuli were labeled male in some conditions and female in other conditions. The strength and consistency of gender labeling effects on perceptions and behaviors in these studies were appraised. The results indicate that knowledge of an infant's gender is not a consistent determinant of adults' reactions, but more strongly influences young children's reactions. The implications of these findings for research on early sex role socialization are considered.     

Revisiting the roots of attachment: A review of the biological and psychological effects of maternal skin-to-skin contact and carrying of full-term infants

During the early period of hypothesis building and empirical testing of attachment theory, a major emphasis was placed on mother-infant physical contact. In spite of this, mother-infant contact has received scant attention amongst attachment and child development researchers in the past decades. Here, a brief theoretical framework for mother-infant contact is presented, drawing on animal studies as well as human studies of preterm infants and neonates. Salient mechanisms may include an extended sensitive period during early infancy, requiring specific somatosensory stimuli for bio-behavioral homeorhesis; oxytocinergic and epigenetic pathways; kinesthetic stimuli and face-to-face proximity allowing for increased social interaction. Studies of extended human mother-full-term infant physical contact have demonstrated positive effects in multiple domains. For infants, these include sleep organization, temperature and heart rate regulation, behavioral response, crying/colic, socio-emotional development, attachment quality, speech development opportunities and mother-child interactions. For mothers, studies demonstrate improved depressive symptomatology, physiological stress regulation, contingent responsivity, breastfeeding and mother-child interactions. Parent-infant attachment quality has gained prominence as a trauma-resilience factor as well as a predictor of adult physical health. The potential role of mother-infant contact as an attachment promoting intervention as well as future research subjects are discussed. Current evidence supports the original attachment research that early maternal touch provision may influence infant socio-emotional development and attachment quality, with positive implications for mother-child relationship functioning.     

Development of brain functional connectivity and its relation to infant sustained attention in the first year of life

The study of brain functional connectivity is crucial to understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the improved behavioral performance and amplified ERP responses observed during infant sustained attention. Previous investigations on the development of functional brain connectivity during infancy are primarily confined to the use of functional and structural MRI techniques. The current study examined the relation between infant sustained attention and brain functional connectivity and their development during infancy with high‐density EEG recordings. Fifty‐nine infants were tested at 6 (N = 15), 8 (N =14), 10 (N = 17), and 12 (N = 13) months. Infant sustained attention was defined by measuring infant heart rate changes during infants’ looking. Functional connectivity was estimated from the electrodes on the scalp and with reconstructed cortical source activities in brain regions. It was found that infant sustained attention was accompanied by attenuated functional connectivity in the dorsal attention and default mode networks in the alpha band. Graph theory analyses showed that there was an increase in path length and a decrease in clustering coefficient during infant sustained attention. The functional connectivity within the visual, somatosensory, dorsal attention, and ventral attention networks and graph theory measures of path length and clustering coefficient were found to increase with age. These findings suggest that infant sustained attention is accompanied by distinct patterns of brain functional connectivity. The current findings also suggest the rapid development of functional connectivity in brain networks during infancy.     

How New Knowledge About Parenting Reveals the Neurobiological Implications of Intersubjectivity: A Conceptual Synthesis of Recent Research

Observations of early mother–infant interactions have shown that intersubjectivity is a primary motivation and have underscored the importance of maternal competencies in this development. In our paper we propose a conceptual overview of the different perspectives according to which parental caregiving has been formulated. Psychoanalytical theory has fundamentally promoted the exploration of maternal and paternal intrapsychic constellation, by stressing the role of unconscious processes in parental attitude as well as in infant development. In contrast with psychoanalytical theory, the conceptual framework of attachment has mostly considered real interactions between parents and infant, underlining parental abilities in providing the infant with a secure base. Finally, infant research has explored the complexity of communicative system between parents and infants, which appears already active from the birth of the baby. Recently, these different viewpoints have been broadened by neurobiological research, which has begun to explore maternal brain functioning and structure, by means of new scientific instruments such as fMRI techniques. From these perspectives, we provide an overview of motherhood, underlining both neurobiological and psychological transformations, which begin from pregnancy and run through the first year of the infant, when the mother–infant intersubjective matrix is built. This matrix influences the construction of the infant's Self and support the development of the sense of “we,” a sort of connective net, which ties the baby to parents, letting him feel as a part of the familiar world.     

Development of infant crying behavior: A longitudinal case study

This study documents the development of infant crying behavior during the second half of the first year (across a key developmental transition). Two female infants were observed twice a month for 6 months when the infants were between 7 and 14 months of age. The infants exhibited crying behavior that seemed to become more sophisticated with increasing age. This marked a proactive stance in communicating with the mother on the part of the infant. Interestingly, at 11–12 months, “fake crying” was observed during a naturalistic interaction with the mother. This implied that deceptive infant behavior could be seen at quite an early stage.     

Micro-analysis of infant looking in a naturalistic social setting: insights from biologically based models of attention

A current theory of attention posits that several micro-indices of attentional vigilance are dependent on activation of the locus coeruleus, a brainstem nucleus that regulates cortical norepinephrine activity (Aston-Jones et al., 1999). This theory may account for many findings in the infant literature, while highlighting important new areas for research and theory on infant attention. We examined the visual behaviors of n = 16 infants (6-7 months) while they attended to multiple spatially distributed targets in a naturalistic environment. We coded four measures of attentional vigilance, adapted from studies of norepinergic modulation of animal attention: rate of fixations, duration of fixations, latency to reorientation, and target 'hits'. These measures showed a high degree of coherence in individual infants, in parallel with findings from animal studies. Results also suggest that less vigilant infants showed greater habituation to the trial structure and more attentiveness to less salient stimuli during periods of high attentional competition. This pattern of results is predicted by the Aston-Jones model of attention, but could not be explained by the standard information processing model.     

The development of voicing categories: A quantitative review of over 40 years of infant speech perception research

Most research on infant speech categories has relied on measures of discrimination. Such work often employs categorical perception as a linking hypothesis to enable inferences about categorization on the basis of discrimination measures. However, a large number of studies with adults challenge the utility of categorical perception in describing adult speech perception, and this in turn calls into question how to interpret measures of infant speech discrimination. We propose here a parallel channels model of discrimination (built on Pisoni and Tash Perception & Psychophysics, 15(2), 285–290, 1974), which posits that both a noncategorical or veridical encoding of speech cues and category representations can simultaneously contribute to discrimination. This can thus produce categorical perception effects without positing any warping of the acoustic signal, but it also reframes how we think about infant discrimination and development. We test this model by conducting a quantitative review of 20 studies examining infants’ discrimination of voice onset time contrasts. This review suggests that within-category discrimination is surprisingly prevalent even in classic studies and that, averaging across studies, discrimination is related to continuous acoustic distance. It also identifies several methodological factors that may mask our ability to see this. Finally, it suggests that infant discrimination may improve over development, contrary to commonly held notion of perceptual narrowing. These results are discussed in terms of theories of speech development that may require such continuous sensitivity.     

Gender and infant psychiatry

The practice of infant psychiatry raises theoretical and clinical issues for the feminist psychotherapist. The psychological and social development of infants, the mother-child relationship, and the role of fathers are all areas of shared concern for infant psychiatry and a feminist project. This paper argues that attention to gender as a fundamental category of analysis is crucial in order to understand the context of infant development, to develop a realistic theory of mothering that avoids both mother blaming and the idealization of mothers, and to illuminate the political content of our approaches to therapeutic intervention and research.     

Young adults’ reactions to infant crying

An infant's optimal development is determined to a great extent by the adequate and sensitive responses of the caregiver. The adequacy and sensitivity of a reaction to an infant in distress (i.e. crying) will partly depend on the causal attributions of the crying and on the individual's sympathy for the infant. Being female, prior caring experiences, and multiparity have shown to be linked to more sympathetic, tolerant and less hostile emotional responses to crying. However, little is known about other factors explaining inexperienced future caregivers’ reactions to infant crying. The present paper's goal is to shed more light on the subject by looking at how personality factors, caregiving interest, sex, promptness of the reaction, and gender identity are related to emotional reactions and causal attributions to crying in a population of young adults without children.     

Infant brain responses to live face-to-face interaction with their mothers: Combining functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with a modified still-face paradigm

BackgroundNon-invasive imaging techniques, such as fNIRS, allow us to shed light on the neural correlates of infant’s social-emotional development within the context of parent-infant interaction. On a behavioral level, numerous studies have investigated parent-infant interaction employing the still-face paradigm and found that the primary caregiver(s), often the mother, is an important coregulator of the infant’s physiological and behavioral stress response. However, limited information is available on how the infant’s brain reacts to the maternal cues during real-life interaction.MethodsTherefore, the main aim of the current study was to design a fNIRS paradigm to study live mother-infant interaction and to explore the neural correlates of infant affect regulation during real-life dyadic interaction. To this end, a modified still-face paradigm was designed, which consists of live face-to-face mother-infant, and stranger-infant, interaction episodes, including stressful, “still-face” and non-stressful, “happy-face” interaction blocks, combined with infant fNIRS imaging.ResultsHemodynamic brain responses were collected in n = 10 (6 females, mean age 230.2 ± 17.5 days), typically developing infants using the Hitachi ETG-4000 continuous-wave system (22 channels spanning the frontal cortex; 10 Hz system sampling frequency). Infants with usable data (n = 7) showed negative activations, indicated by a decrease in oxygenated hemoglobin, over the middle frontal gyrus in response to happy-face (reunion) interaction with their mothers compared to a female stranger; suggesting deactivation of brain regions associated with affect regulation. We also explored correlations between infant brain responses to maternal interaction and infant characteristics (temperament) as well as experiential/environmental factors (mothers’ self-reported depression symptoms).ConclusionsAlthough the current results are very preliminary, they overall suggest that live design in infant populations is doable and offers unique opportunities to study the neural mechanisms underlying early caregiver(s)-child interaction in a more naturalistic context. Restrictions, and implications, of the methodology are critically discussed.     

Maternal avoidance,anxiety cognitions and interactive behaviour predicts infant development at 12 months in the context of anxiety disorders in the postpartum period

BackgroundFew studies have examined the relation between anxiety disorders in the postpartum period and cognitive as well as language development in infancy.AimsThis longitudinal study investigated whether anxiety disorder in the postpartum period is linked to infant development at twelve months. A closer look was also taken at a possible link between maternal interaction and infant development.Study designSubjects were videotaped during a Face-to-Face-Still-Face interaction with their infant (M = 4.0 months). Specific maternal anxiety symptoms were measured by self-report questionnaires (Anxiety Cognition Questionnaire (ACQ), Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), Mobility Inventory (MI)) to check for a connection with infant development. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (Bayley-III) were used to assess infant language and cognitive development at one year of age.Subjectsn = 34 mothers with anxiety disorder (SCID-I; DSM-IV) and n = 47 healthy mothers with their infant.Outcome measuresInfant performance on Bayley-III language and cognitive scales.ResultsInfants of mothers with anxiety disorder yielded significantly lower language scores than infants of controls. No significant group differences were found regarding infant cognitive development. Exploratory analyses revealed the vital role of “maternal avoidance accompanied” in infant language and cognitive development. Maternal neutral engagement, which lacks positive affect and vocalisations, turned out as the strongest negative predictor of cognitive development. Maternal anxiety cognitions and joint activity in mother-infant interaction were the strongest predictors of infant language performance.ConclusionsResults underline the importance to also consider the interaction behaviour of women with anxiety disorders to prevent adverse infant development.     

儿童早期词汇获得的跨语言/文化研究

婴儿词汇学习是国际语言发展研究的前沿领域, 但大多数研究都是以英语婴儿为研究对象。目前国内关于汉语婴儿早期语言发展研究处于起步阶段。由于汉语在词法、句法等方面具有明显的特殊性, 另外, 成人“言语输入”的语用习惯以及非言语线索都会影响婴儿早期词汇学习, 使得不同语言文化下的婴儿呈现不同的单词学习模式。本项目力图从跨语言视角考察汉语和英语婴儿的早期单词学习(包括单词的理解和产生)以及促进婴儿语言发展的成人言语和非言语输入特征。研究将综合采用实验室实验、半结构化实验室观察和量表测量等研究方法, 利用新的研究技术(如习惯化和IPLP), 从多个角度探索婴儿词汇发展, 以及不同语言文化和个体环境对婴儿早期词汇学习的影响, 揭示词汇获得的跨语言一致性和特异性。研究结果有望对儿童的语言学习提供启示。     

The relevance of infant observation to clinical training and practice: An interpretation

In this paper, I discuss the effects of infant observation on the observer and the implications for mental health professionals. Similarities and differences between two Infant Observation Seminar groups of students are presented. Students performed in-home observations once a week over a 2-year period. Initially, there were motivational differences between the groups of students. One group had members committed to an intensive training program in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with children (Training Group), and the other group was a service delivery front-line worker group whose members voluntarily attended a weekly in-service training seminar (Work Group). In addition to infant observation, the Training Group had ongoing didactic seminars in psychoanalytic theory, 3 hours weekly for 4 years. The Work Group had a didactic seminar on some aspect of relevant infancy literature or psychoanalytic theory for 1 hour per week for the duration of the seminar, which was 2 years. The findings suggest that mental health workers can enhance their clinical skills through infant observation, that they can obtain a working knowledge of infant development, that prior training did not affect observation, and that all observers had difficulty observing mother-infant relationships due to counter-transference difficulties that involved unresolved conflicts from the past.     

Promoting infant well‐being in the context of maternal depression by supporting the father

Maternal depression is recognized as posing a significant risk to the healthy development of infants. Guided by attachment theory, interventions have focused on the distressed mother's relationship with her infant. While interventions which include fathers are reported in the literature, the processes involved in the fathers' support of a distressed mother and in his interactions with his infant in the context of maternal depression remain unexplored. In the case study described here, home‐visiting support was directed to the father in a couple in which the mother had been treated for depression after the birth. The observed effects of the intervention on father–infant interaction and the “knock‐on” effects on the mothers' parenting suggest that targeting support to fathers in distressed families should be considered. Points for a service protocol are provided to incorporate fathers into the identification and treatment of maternal distress.