White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood
The transition to parenthood remains an understudied window of potential neuroplasticity in the adult brain. White matter microstructural (WMM) organization, which reflects structural connectivity in the brain, has shown plasticity across the lifespan. No studies have examined how WMM organization c...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929324000355 |
| _version_ | 1797208785253564416 |
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| author | Sofia I. Cárdenas Yael Waizman Van Truong Pia Sellery Sarah A. Stoycos Fang-Cheng Yeh Vidya Rajagopalan Darby E. Saxbe |
| author_facet | Sofia I. Cárdenas Yael Waizman Van Truong Pia Sellery Sarah A. Stoycos Fang-Cheng Yeh Vidya Rajagopalan Darby E. Saxbe |
| author_sort | Sofia I. Cárdenas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The transition to parenthood remains an understudied window of potential neuroplasticity in the adult brain. White matter microstructural (WMM) organization, which reflects structural connectivity in the brain, has shown plasticity across the lifespan. No studies have examined how WMM organization changes from the prenatal to postpartum period in men becoming fathers. This study investigates WMM organization in men transitioning to first-time fatherhood. We performed diffusion-weighted imaging to identify differences in WMM organization, as indexed by fractional anisotropy (FA). We also investigated whether FA changes were associated with fathers’ postpartum mental health. Associations between mental health and WMM organization have not been rarely examined in parents, who may be vulnerable to mental health problems. Fathers exhibited reduced FA at the whole-brain level, especially in the cingulum, a tract associated with emotional regulation. Fathers also displayed reduced FA in the corpus callosum, especially in the forceps minor, which is implicated in cognitive functioning. Postpartum depressive symptoms were linked with increases and decreases in FA, but FA was not correlated with perceived or parenting stress. Findings provide novel insight into fathers’ WMM organization during the transition to parenthood and suggest postpartum depression may be linked with fathers’ neuroplasticity during the transition to parenthood. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:44:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-65f940f852304e86a2c0969e946c45e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1878-9293 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:44:19Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-65f940f852304e86a2c0969e946c45e02024-04-15T04:05:37ZengElsevierDevelopmental Cognitive Neuroscience1878-92932024-06-0167101374White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhoodSofia I. Cárdenas0Yael Waizman1Van Truong2Pia Sellery3Sarah A. Stoycos4Fang-Cheng Yeh5Vidya Rajagopalan6Darby E. Saxbe7Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, USADepartment of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, USADepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, USADepartment of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, USA; Correspondence to: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.The transition to parenthood remains an understudied window of potential neuroplasticity in the adult brain. White matter microstructural (WMM) organization, which reflects structural connectivity in the brain, has shown plasticity across the lifespan. No studies have examined how WMM organization changes from the prenatal to postpartum period in men becoming fathers. This study investigates WMM organization in men transitioning to first-time fatherhood. We performed diffusion-weighted imaging to identify differences in WMM organization, as indexed by fractional anisotropy (FA). We also investigated whether FA changes were associated with fathers’ postpartum mental health. Associations between mental health and WMM organization have not been rarely examined in parents, who may be vulnerable to mental health problems. Fathers exhibited reduced FA at the whole-brain level, especially in the cingulum, a tract associated with emotional regulation. Fathers also displayed reduced FA in the corpus callosum, especially in the forceps minor, which is implicated in cognitive functioning. Postpartum depressive symptoms were linked with increases and decreases in FA, but FA was not correlated with perceived or parenting stress. Findings provide novel insight into fathers’ WMM organization during the transition to parenthood and suggest postpartum depression may be linked with fathers’ neuroplasticity during the transition to parenthood.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929324000355Transition to parenthoodFathersDiffusion-weighted imagingDepressionStress |
| spellingShingle | Sofia I. Cárdenas Yael Waizman Van Truong Pia Sellery Sarah A. Stoycos Fang-Cheng Yeh Vidya Rajagopalan Darby E. Saxbe White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Transition to parenthood Fathers Diffusion-weighted imaging Depression Stress |
| title | White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood |
| title_full | White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood |
| title_fullStr | White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood |
| title_full_unstemmed | White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood |
| title_short | White matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood |
| title_sort | white matter microstructure organization across the transition to fatherhood |
| topic | Transition to parenthood Fathers Diffusion-weighted imaging Depression Stress |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929324000355 |
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