Maternal Separation and Contact to a Stranger More than Reunion Affect the Autonomic Nervous System in the Mother-Child Dyad: ANS Measurements During Strange Situation Procedure in Mother-Child Dyad

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alkon A ; Fegert JM ; Gündel H ; Koehler-Dauner F ; Kolassa I-T ; Krause S ; Prinz J ; Roder E ; Rottler E ; Waller C ; Ziegenhain U
• Description:
  Background: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) processes underlying attachment-related mother-child interactions are not well understood. We aimed to describe and compare the responsivity of the ANS for mothers and their infants during the different phases of the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Methods: Continuous measurements of the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) branches of the ANS were obtained simultaneously in 91 mothers and their infants (range 10-15 months). Heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), pre-ejection period (PEP) and left ventricular ejection time (LVET), were calculated for the baseline period (e1) and seven subsequent episodes (e2-e8) of the SSP. Results: The largest difference between the mother and infant was during e7, when the stranger went into the room where the infant was while the mother waited outside the room. Mothers showed reduced SNS-activity or stress reduction while the child showed PNS withdrawal or increased stress response. Additionally, LVET was found to be a marker for SNS changes in the one-year-old infant during SSP. Conclusion: Mothers and infants showed different stress-related ANS responses during e7. Since this study showed that simultaneous measurement of ANS responses in mother-child dyads during the SSP is feasible, future studies can assess both mother and child stress responses in different contexts. The measure of LVET may be a valid SNS-reactivity measure in the one-year-olds. Since the separation episode e7 led to the strongest ANS responses, future studies might assess stress responses in more normative circumstances, such as child care programs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Family Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Autonomic Nervous System Autonomic Nervous System Children Electrophysiological Methods Families Mother-child-dyad Parasympathetic Physiological Effects Psychological Responses Psychological Stress Psychophysiology Strange Situation Procedure Sympathetic

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• ISSN:
  0167-8760
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  26-34
• Volume:
  147
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063036
• Citation:
  Int J Psychophysiol 2020 Jan; 147:26-34
• Contact Point Address:
  Eva Roder, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081 Ulm, Germany
• Email:
  eva.roder@uniklinik-ulm.de
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, Berkeley
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Psychophysiology
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cfed94e1ab8bc85a188facd20c91a74dcbac685f26d0d66a98a6e9a97ed5638929cc296b2301ed77a486c31aad06819b9ad7b8d4c67d579d686cdacd62239942
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226166/cdc_226166_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 461.54 KB ]