The long-term associations between parental behaviors, cognitive function and brain activation in adolescence

Orwa Dandash,Nicholas B Allen,Sarah Whittle,Nicolas Cherbuin,Orli Schwartz

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-90474-2

Orwa Dandash, Nicholas B Allen + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90474-2

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Abstract

Parenting behavior has a vital role in the development of the brain and cognitive abilities of offspring throughout childhood and adolescence. While positive and aggressive parenting behavior have been suggested to impact neurobiology in the form of abnormal brain activation in adolescents, little work has investigated the links between parenting behavior and the neurobiological correlates of cognitive performance during this age period. In the current longitudinal fMRI study, associations between parenting behaviors and cognitive performance and brain activation across mid- and late-adolescence were assessed. Observed measures of maternal aggressive and positive behavior were recorded in early adolescence (12 years) and correlated with fMRI activation and in-scanner behavioral scores on the multi-source interference task (MSIT) during mid- (16 years; 95 participants) and late-adolescence (19 years; 75 participants). There was a significant reduction in inhibitory-control-related brain activation in posterior parietal and cingulate cortices as participants transitioned from mid- to late-adolescence. Positive maternal behavior in early-adolescence was associated with lower activation in the left parietal and DLPFC during the MSIT in mid-adolescence, whereas maternal aggressive behavior was associated with longer reaction time to incongruent trials in late-adolescence. The study supports the notion that maternal behavior may influence subsequent neurocognitive development during adolescence.

Highlights

Parenting behavior has a vital role in the development of the brain and cognitive abilities of offspring throughout childhood and adolescence
Of these participants parenting data in early adolescence was available for 95 participants in mid adolescence and 75 participants in late adolescence
The results showed significant reduction in activation in posterior cingulate and parietal cortex during the progression from mid- to late-adolescence on the multi-source interference task (MSIT)

Summary

Introduction

Parenting behavior has a vital role in the development of the brain and cognitive abilities of offspring throughout childhood and adolescence. Previous work with the current sample has shown that maternal aggression (i.e., expression of anger, contempt and belligerent or provocative attitude) during an event planning interaction (EPI) with their adolescent child was associated with reduced cortical thinning in the CFP brain network involving frontal and parietal regions across adolescence[11]. These structural changes were predictive of functional outcomes such as school performance and academic achievement in adolescence[11]. Low levels of maternal positive behaviors (including happy and caring affect as well as approving or validating comments) during a problem solving interaction (PSI) were associated with accelerated cortical thinning in frontal r egions[11,12]

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