Compared to other mammalian species, humans have a particularly immature brain at birth, which makes its maturation more sensible and environment-dependent.
From the very beginning of life, parent-infant exchanges represent the first and most pervasive context contributing to shaping infants’ social and cognitive development under typical and at-risk conditions.
Accumulating evidence has highlighted how dyadic dimensions can get under the skin and interact at a molecular level affecting short- and long-term programming of neurodevelopmental trajectories. For instance, different components of caregivers’ sensitivity observed during caregiver–infant interactions predict the volume of different brain structures, DNA methylation patterns, and neuroendocrine functioning in the infant.
The study of these interactions is gaining more traction and interest within the behavioral neuroscience and developmental neuropsychobiology field of research, increasing the focus of numerous labs aiming to address pertinent questions such as:
•How do interactional factors shape developmental changes in sensory processing?
•How do early dyadic experiences influence later-life phenotypes through epigenetic mechanisms?
•How can neurobehavioral factors linked to caregiver-child interactions boost risk or promote resilience for emerging mental health problems?
To broaden our knowledge of these fascinating topics, recent advances have started to explore infants’ developmental trajectories focusing on the psychobiological and neurophysiological dimensions of the dyad.
Looking at parent-child interactions from this multidisciplinary perspective might lead to new insights into the mechanisms through which dyadic dimensions are embedded in developmental processes, also potentially providing new indexes for diagnostic and prognostic paths in atypical development.
This Research Topic aims to collect contributions studying the precursors and outcomes of the quality of parent-child interaction in typical and atypical populations, highlighting behavioral, psychobiological (neuroendocrine/epigenetics), and neurophysiological (parasympathetic/sympathetic regulation, EEG/fNIRS and other neuroimaging techniques) dimensions.
We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following, as well as studies investigating the neuropsychobiological dimensions of parent-infant context not listed here.
• Caregiver-infant interactions and infants' behavioral and physiological responses to stress
• Brain-to-brain registration and socio-emotional development
• Infants’ bio-behavioral correlates of caregivers’ affective touch and body-to-body contact
• Dyadic dimensions and infants’ social brain structural and functional maturation
• Infants’ microbiota composition and epigenetic correlates of caregivers’ dimensions (e.g., sensitivity, enteroception, psychopathological dimensions)
• The role of sex and individual differences in mediating the link between dyadic dimensions and infants’ later-life neurobehavioral outcomes
• Potential implications of this field of research for public health policy (e.g., promoting early interventions to support early parent-child relationships in at-risk conditions).
Compared to other mammalian species, humans have a particularly immature brain at birth, which makes its maturation more sensible and environment-dependent.
From the very beginning of life, parent-infant exchanges represent the first and most pervasive context contributing to shaping infants’ social and cognitive development under typical and at-risk conditions.
Accumulating evidence has highlighted how dyadic dimensions can get under the skin and interact at a molecular level affecting short- and long-term programming of neurodevelopmental trajectories. For instance, different components of caregivers’ sensitivity observed during caregiver–infant interactions predict the volume of different brain structures, DNA methylation patterns, and neuroendocrine functioning in the infant.
The study of these interactions is gaining more traction and interest within the behavioral neuroscience and developmental neuropsychobiology field of research, increasing the focus of numerous labs aiming to address pertinent questions such as:
•How do interactional factors shape developmental changes in sensory processing?
•How do early dyadic experiences influence later-life phenotypes through epigenetic mechanisms?
•How can neurobehavioral factors linked to caregiver-child interactions boost risk or promote resilience for emerging mental health problems?
To broaden our knowledge of these fascinating topics, recent advances have started to explore infants’ developmental trajectories focusing on the psychobiological and neurophysiological dimensions of the dyad.
Looking at parent-child interactions from this multidisciplinary perspective might lead to new insights into the mechanisms through which dyadic dimensions are embedded in developmental processes, also potentially providing new indexes for diagnostic and prognostic paths in atypical development.
This Research Topic aims to collect contributions studying the precursors and outcomes of the quality of parent-child interaction in typical and atypical populations, highlighting behavioral, psychobiological (neuroendocrine/epigenetics), and neurophysiological (parasympathetic/sympathetic regulation, EEG/fNIRS and other neuroimaging techniques) dimensions.
We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following, as well as studies investigating the neuropsychobiological dimensions of parent-infant context not listed here.
• Caregiver-infant interactions and infants' behavioral and physiological responses to stress
• Brain-to-brain registration and socio-emotional development
• Infants’ bio-behavioral correlates of caregivers’ affective touch and body-to-body contact
• Dyadic dimensions and infants’ social brain structural and functional maturation
• Infants’ microbiota composition and epigenetic correlates of caregivers’ dimensions (e.g., sensitivity, enteroception, psychopathological dimensions)
• The role of sex and individual differences in mediating the link between dyadic dimensions and infants’ later-life neurobehavioral outcomes
• Potential implications of this field of research for public health policy (e.g., promoting early interventions to support early parent-child relationships in at-risk conditions).
