Publications | February 2024
Abstract: Children born preterm often face challenges with self-regulation during toddlerhood. This study examined the relationship between prematurity, supportive parent behaviors, frontal lobe gray matter volume (GMV), and emotion regulation (ER) among toddlers during a parent-assisted, increasingly complex problem-solving task, validated for this age range. Data were collected from preterm toddlers (n = 57) ages 15–30 months corrected for prematurity and their primary caregivers. MRI data were collected during toddlers’ natural sleep. The sample contained three gestational groups: 22–27 weeks (extremely preterm; EPT), 28–33 weeks (very preterm; VPT), and 34–36 weeks (late preterm; LPT). Older toddlers became more compliant as the Tool Task increased in difficulty, but this pattern varied by gestational group. Engagement was highest for LPT toddlers, for older toddlers, and for the easiest task condition. Parents did not differentiate their support depending on task difficulty or their child’s age or gestational group. Older children had greater frontal lobe GMV, and for EPT toddlers only, more parent support was related to larger right frontal lobe GMV. We found that parent support had the greatest impact on high birth risk (≤27 gestational weeks) toddler brain development, thus early parent interventions may normalize preterm child neurodevelopment and have lasting impacts.
Published: February 6, 2024
Publication: Children
CLI Authors: Kelly A. Vaughn, PhD, Susan H. Landry, PhD, and Dana M. DeMaster, PhD
Funding: This research was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, grant number R01HD100560. The APC was funded by this NIH award.
Citation: Muñoz, J. S., Giles, M. E., Vaughn, K. A., Wang, Y., Landry, S. H., Bick, J. R., & DeMaster, D. M. (2024). Parenting Influences on Frontal Lobe Gray Matter and Preterm Toddlers’ Problem-Solving Skills. Children, 11(2), 206. https://doi.org/10.3390/children11020206
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11020206