Tag: Jeffrey Measelle

Possible Benefits of Maternal Thiamine Supplementation for Mother-Infant Joint Attention in Cambodia

Presenter: Sera Lew – Global Studies, Psychology

Co-Presenter(s): Audrey Saing

Faculty Mentor(s): Dare Baldwin, Jeffrey Measelle

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

Thiamine deficiency is a common micronutrient deficiency in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia (Measelle, et al., 2020). Severe thiamine deficiency contributes to infant mortality, while subclinical levels undercut infants’ neurocognitive development (Fattal-Valevski, et al. 2009). This study focuses on the possible implications of mother-infant thiamine status for neurocognitive development in terms of joint attention interactions where caregivers and babies simultaneously engage with the same object. This study is part of a larger randomized controlled trial in rural Cambodia investigating how low-dose thiamine supplementation of breastfeeding mothers might benefit infants’ cognitive development. Cambodian mothers (N=335) were randomly assigned to receive daily supplements of either 0mg, 1.2mg, 2.4mg, or 10mg of thiamine hydrochloride from 2 to 24 weeks postnatal. We hypothesized that mothers and infants who received thiamine would display longer joint attention interactions than those in the control group. Preliminary findings from 70 mother-infant dyads (control: 18; supplementation: 52) provided possible confirmation of these predictions; joint attention interactions were marginally longer for dyads who received supplemental thiamine than those who did not, F(1, 68) = 3.69, p = .059. If these findings are reflected in the full sample, they would indicate that thiamine facilitates infants’ joint attention interactions, a key catalyst for neurocognitive development.

Like mother, like child: Intergenerational transmission of maternal emotion regulation to infants

Presenter(s): Annaliese Elliot — Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Jennifer Ablow, Jeffrey Measelle

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

Emotion dysregulation is a demonstrated precursor to future psychopathology. Infancy is a critical time to develop self regulatory skills in the context of a relationship with primary caregivers. How well a caregiver can aid infant regulation development varies, often depending on the caregiver’s own emotion regulation abilities. This study aims to build upon previous research by examining the predictive association between reported maternal emotional dysregulation, using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and observations of infant self regulation at six months. Temperament, measured with the Infant Behavioral Questionnaire (IBQ-R), will be controlled to capture the independent contributions of maternal dysregulation to infant’s early indices of emotion regulation capacities. Infants’ self regulation and negative affect will be measured with micro- analytic behavioral coding during the Still Face Paradigm (SFP), which examines patterns between a caregiver and their infant. It is hypothesized that greater emotion dysregulation in mothers will predict negative affect and ineffective regulation in infants during the SFP, above the effect of temperament. Understanding how a pregnant woman’s dysregulation relates to her infant’s developing regulatory strategies may provide insight into specific mechanisms through which risk for emotion dysregulation is transmitted across generations.

Relationship between Early Life Adversity and Inflammation

Presenter: Jason David

Mentors: Jeffrey Measelle and Jennifer Ablow, Psychology

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology

Early life adversity is associated with adult elevations of inflammatory markers like circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). Few studies have examined whether exposure to adversity prenatally is associated with inflammation during childhood. Exposure to adversity before birth may engender disease vulnerability via alterations in inflammatory biomarkers (i.e. fetal programming of disease hypothesis). This study examines the association between exposure to prenatal vs. postnatal adversity and CRP concentrations when infants were 18 months old. We followed 105 low-SES (socio-economic stress) infant-mother dyads across the perinatal transition. Our measures of psychosocial and contextual measured prenatally and at 5- and 18-months postnatally. When infants were 18 months old, resting state saliva samples were collected to assess CRP (mg/L) levels via enzyme immunoassay. Hierarchical regression analyses reveals a composite measure of prenatal maternal adversity, that uniquely predicts variability in infants’ log transformed CRP levels, B = 1.15 (SE = .05), p < .05. Maternal adversity at 5 months is not predictive of infant CRP, but maternal adversity at 18 months is marginally associated. These results raise questions about timing of exposure to adverse events as well as the potentially lasting effects on inflammatory processes when such exposure occurs very early in development.

Nutrition and Anemia in Lao Children: Determining Contextual Correlates

Presenter(s): Nathaniel Sichter − Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Jeffrey Measelle, Dorianne Wright

Poster 91

Research Area: Global Health/Social Science

Funding: Friends Without A Boarder, Secondary Funder: Clinton Foundation

Laos is the poorest country in the Southeast Asia region (WHO, 2018). In 2017, Lao’s Global Hunger Index (GHI) rating was 27.5, indicating an alarming prevalence of malnourishment (WHO, 2018). Factors like poverty and poorly targeted/delivered nutritional programs influence this rating. Anemia – a condition marked by reduced hemoglobin concentration –can be caused by poor diet and exacerbated by infectious diseases and various social factors (Kotecha, 2011). The present study investigates the association between nutritional intake and anemia among young children, and whether contextual factors (i.e., SES, ethnicity, or access to health services) moderate that association. We hypothesized that malnourished children would show higher rates of anemia, and that this association would be strongest among poor and ethnically marginalized families with poor access to health services. Data were collected in 2014 from 968 children under five years of age in 90 villages across three districts in northern Laos. An adapted version of UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS v.4) was used to measure a wide range of health indicators, including infant health status, families’ nutritional practices, composition of food basket, and issues of food security. Children’s hemoglobin levels were measured using a HemoCue Hb 201. Our cutoff for determining anemia was any hemoglobin concentration under 11g/dL. Preliminary analyses suggest that children sampled were undernourished with 47% experiencing stunting, 9% wasting, and 31% being underweight. Additionally, 57% were classified as anemic. Analyses are underway to explore the association between nutritional profile and child anemia, as well as to test potential moderators.

Dissociative Experiences Associated with Parasympathetic Nervous System Activation of Expectant Mothers During Trauma Recollection

Presenter(s): Cassandra Dukes − Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Jennifer Ablow, Jeffrey Measelle

Poster 108

Research Area: Clinical Psychology

Trauma, defined by the DMS-5 as “exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” can be associated with levels of dissociation when triggered by recollection (Shauer & Elbert, 2010). The Polyvagal Theory, developed by Stephen Porges (1995), suggests that dissociation, a form of immobilization, is a defense used as a coping mechanism to confront an inescapable fear or danger. In keeping with this, research has shown through investigating heart rate that dissociation activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) (Koopman et al., 2004). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is an important measurement of the PNS that relates to heart rate variation and respiration (Sack, Hopper, & Lamprecht, 2004). Although research has shown associations between heart rate and dissociation during stressful or triggering interviews, there is limited knowledge of dissociation correlating with RSA during personal trauma recall. This study recorded continuous RSA of eighty-two pregnant women discussing trauma during the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) then involved them filling out several questionnaires including the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey (BBTS), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Trauma Symptoms Checklist (TSC), and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II). After data was recorded, it was analyzed using a paired-sample t-test and regressions. It is predicted that as scores on the DES-II increase, RSA will increase during trauma recollection. If the results are consistent with these hypotheses, it will further support the idea of dissociation as a form of coping mechanism and a way to counteract the autonomic nervous system dysfunction normally caused by experiencing trauma. In doing so, researchers can better understand how dissociation helps individuals regulate stress and emotions during stressful situations and why this might be a common symptom of PTSD.

The Origins of Empathy During Infancy: Links to Theory of Mind and Prosocial Behavior at Age 5

Presenter(s): Courtne Daum − Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Jennifer Ablow, Jeffrey Measelle

Poster 100

Research Area: Psychology

Researchers examining the developmental origins of empathy report that infants as young as 17 months show early indices of empathic behavior in the form of concern for others, positive affect, and emotional distress (Zahn-Waxler, & Robinson, 2005). In turn, a vast amount of research demonstrates the long-term outcomes of empathic children, such as prosocial development, high self-esteem, few externalizing problems and a positive disposition (Eisenberg, Fabes & Spinard, 2015). In addition, early empathic tendencies predict earlier onset of Theory of Mind, which is the ability to attribute beliefs and desires to self and others (Laranjo et al., 2010). Evidence suggests that ToM develops within the context of the parenting relationship during infancy (Laranjo et al., 2010), through parenting mechanisms such as Maternal Mind-mindedness, which is the ability to treat children as their own entities’ with minds through appropriate mind related language. Though there is vast literature on the outcomes of early indices of empathy expressed in infancy, there is little research on the development of empathy prior to 17 months. Given links between Maternal Mind-mindedness in infancy and early onset of ToM, and links between early indices of empathy and ToM, this study examines Maternal Mind Mindedness at 5 months predicting indices of infant empathy at 17 months, which in turn predicts ToM, empathy, and prosocial behaviors at 5 years.