Perinatal Symposium 1: Ayala: MULTIMODAL APPROACHES TO THE ASSESSMENT OF MATERNAL-FETAL DEVELOPMENT
Chair:
Kathy Ayala, Graduate Student, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, United States
Presenters:
- Cristin M. Holland, PhD, OTR/L, Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Columbia University, New York, United States
- Kristin Voegtline, PhD, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, United States
- Marisa Spann, PhD, MPH, Herbert Irving Associate Professor of Medical Psychology, Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States
- Helena Rutherford, PhD, Associate Professor in the Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, United States
Symposium Description:
The prenatal period is a critical window of dyadic development, with dynamic fetal and maternal systems interactions. Fetal neurobehavior, indexed by movement, heart rate, and heart rate variability, provides an early indicator of child development. Simultaneously, maternal behavioral, psychological, and neural changes may reflect growing sensitivity to the developing child and emerging caregiving. The proposed symposium brings together four presentations that explore different aspects, and directions, of this bidirectional development using diverse methodologies including psychological assessment, fetal monitoring, and neuroimaging. In the first presentation, Dr. Cristin Holland will describe findings from a pilot study exploring how occupational engagement during pregnancy, defined as active involvement in daily activities and tasks, may impact fetal heart rate variability. In the second presentation, Dr. Kristin Voegtline will present data from a pregnant population showing that maternal psychological “uplifts”, particularly those related to fetal activity, are associated with fetal heart rate. The second half of the symposium highlights novel approaches to studying maternal-fetal dynamics using neuroimaging. In the third presentation, Dr. Marisa Spann will showcase a maternal-fetal hyperscanning paradigm using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and fetal movement monitoring to examine how simultaneous fetal activity relates to maternal prefrontal cortex activation. In the fourth presentation, Dr. Helena Rutherford will present evidence linking fetal movement with maternal neural response to infant cues, using event-related potentials. Together, these four studies demonstrate the value of multimodal approaches to investigate prenatal development, for mother and child, as a dynamic, bidirectional process.
Session Chair:
Natalie H. Brito, PhD, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, United States
Presenters:
Millie Rincón-Cortés, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Dallas, United States
Annie Aitken, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, New York University, New York, United States
Dylan G. Gee, PhD, Associate Professor Tenure, Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, United States
Kieran J. O’Donnell, PhD, Assistant Professor, Child Study Center & Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, United States
Symposium Description:
Environmental adversity during sensitive developmental periods profoundly alters neurobiological and behavioral trajectories, often resulting in long-term mental health consequences. This symposium highlights innovative longitudinal and translational models that elucidate how the timing of adversity exposure modulates neurodevelopmental outcomes, with implications for understanding risk and resilience. First, Dr. Millie Rincón-Cortés uses a rodent model of resource scarcity to investigate how postpartum adversity alters maternal behavior and mesolimbic dopamine function. Her work demonstrates that postpartum adversity impairs maternal motivation and pup-directed behaviors, with potential for intergenerational effects on offspring neurobehavioral outcomes. Dr. Annie Aitken introduces a remote study leveraging ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and wearable technologies to capture real-time psychophysiological changes in postpartum mothers. This longitudinal work examines how fluctuations in maternal mental health predict infant neurocognitive outcomes, emphasizing the perinatal period as a sensitive window for intervention. Dr. Dylan Gee explores heterogeneity in the developmental timing of adversity exposure and its neurobiological correlates. Her research identifies critical windows in middle childhood where adversity exposure may promote adaptive neural responses that mitigate anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Finally, Dr. Kieran O’Donnell applies advanced statistical methods to examine the long-term impact of parental depression exposure, emphasizing distinct sensitive periods across development that predict psychiatric risk in young adulthood. His findings underscore the importance of considering both maternal and paternal effects over time. Collectively, these presentations will provide novel insights into the interplay between adversity timing and neurodevelopment, drawing on diverse methodologies from both human and animal models, and highlighting opportunities for targeted prevention and intervention.
President’s Symposium 3: STRESSED OR NOT, THAT IS THE QUESTION: A TRIBUTE TO MEGAN GUNNAR’S LEGACY ON STRESS RESEARCH
Chairs:
Özlü Aran, PhD, Postdoc, REID Lab, Center for Cognitive and Brain Health at Northeastern University, Boston, United States, Session Chair
Symposium Discussant: Megan R. Gunnar, PhD, Regents Professor, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Psychology, University of Minnesota
Presenters:
- Brie Reid, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, United States
- Jenalee R. Doom, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology, University of Denver, United States
- Camelia E. Hostinar, Ph.D. Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, United States
- Nicole M. Talge, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Michigan State University, United States; Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Elysia Poggi Davis, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of Denver, United States
- Jamie M. Lawler, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology, Eastern Michigan University, United States
- Emma K. Adam, Ph.D. Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University, United States
Symposium Description:
It is well-established that early life stress has long-lasting consequences for both mental and physical health across the life span. One of the biggest contributions to our understanding of stress in children and its long-term effects comes from Dr. Megan Gunnar who spent over a half century investigating stress biology and its influence on neural and behavioral development. Dr. Gunnar is a pioneer in stress research through her work on the development of stress reactivity and its social regulation in typically developing children and adolescents, the study of previously institutionalized children, and the stress-recalibration hypothesis. This symposium showcases Dr. Gunnar’s legacy by bringing her former trainees to present their work that covers topics of developmental psychobiology including psychosocial stress, nutrition, immune system, cardiovascular health, sleep, emotional and cognitive health, and neurodevelopment from pregnancy through adolescence. First, Dr. Reid will cover her work encompassing the intersection of stress and nutrition during pregnancy followed by Dr. Doom who will talk about stress and cardiovascular health in pregnancy, childhood and adolescence. Then, Dr. Hostinar will introduce the loneliness model among adolescents as a function of psychobiological factors followed by Dr. Talge who will share her work on risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. The second half will cover prevention and intervention work starting with Dr. Davis to share her work on reducing stress during pregnancy. Dr. Lawler will present findings from an intervention targeting emotion-regulation among preschool-aged children and Dr. Adam will share findings from an intervention on ethnic identity promotion and stress response among adolescents. Finally, Dr. Gunnar will discuss these findings in the context of her research program with notes and suggestion on where the field is moving. Together, this symposium, as a manifestation on the power of women in science, aims to highlight Dr. Gunnar’s impact on the field of developmental psychobiology.
Wiley Young Investigator Symposium 4: EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES OF SOCIOECONOMIC POSITION ACROSS CHILDHOOD
Session sponsored by Wiley – Publisher of Developmental Psychobiology
Chairs:
Jessica F. Sperber, Session Chair, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, United States
Dr. Kimberly G. Noble, MD, PhD, Session Co-Chair and Discussant, Professor of Neuroscience and Education, Director, Developmental Psychology Program, Teachers College, Columbia University
Symposium Presenters:
Jessica F. Sperber, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, United States
Abby deSteiguer, MSc, MA, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States
Yayouk Willems, PhD, Max Planck Research Group Biosocial – Biology, Social Disparities, and Development; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
Matthew Zipple, PhD, Cornell University, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Ithaca, United States
Symposium Description:
The experience of low social status is robustly associated with deleterious physical, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes across the lifespan. Recent work has identified epigenetic signatures that are sensitive to both early experiences of inequality as well as the associated health outcomes of socioeconomic disadvantage. Understanding how these biomarkers respond to social environments and their emergence over the life course will enable researchers to examine in real-time the long-term effects of social inequality on developmental trajectories of health and well-being.
To begin, Jessica Sperber will examine the extent to which biomarkers of social status are detectable at the beginning of postnatal life by discussing a pre-registered analysis of the link between prenatal socioeconomic status and epigenetic aging in newborns. Next, Abby deSteiguer will present a novel DNA methylation biomarker of socioeconomic position developed in saliva samples from a longitudinal study of children. Next, Dr. Yayouk Willems will present pre-registered findings of the first randomized control trial of poverty reduction in the United States. These results reveal the extent to which a DNA methylation index of biological aging in children is causally related to changes in socioeconomic status. Finally, Dr. Matthew Zipple will present experimental work in rodents demonstrating the impact of early life contingencies on social status, as well as the downstream epigenetic differences in physiological functioning of experiencing a low social position among genetically identical mice. Dr. Kimberly Noble will subsequently lead a discussion around the social determinants of health, biological mediators of socioeconomic disadvantage, and the implications of the works presented for the field at large.
This symposium encompasses 4 areas of research – correlational, measure development, causal designs, and animal models – to integrate the study of socioeconomic disparities on human health and well-being. Furthermore, this symposium will showcase four early career researchers in predoctoral and postdoctoral positions, conducting innovative research. This international group of promising young scholars will showcase novel and multimodal methods of research with a particular focus on reducing social disparities and improving developmental trajectories for the most under-resourced communities.
Institute for Developmental Sciences at Columbia University Sponsored Symposium 5: DIVERSE REFLECTIONS ON INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA AND RESILIENCE: FROM ANIMAL MODELS TO ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Session sponsored by the Institute for Developmental Sciences at Columbia University Columbia University Department of Psychiatry
Chairs:
Manessa Riser, BS, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit MI USA (Session Chair)
Lana Ruvolo Grasser, PhD, Assistant Professor, Wayne State University Department of Psychology and Ben L. Silberstein Institute for Brain Health, Session Co-Chair (not presenting)
Symposium Discussant: Yo Jackson, Ph.D. Associate Director, Child Maltreatment Solutions Network; Professor, Department of Psychology, Penn State University; Past President, Division 53, Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
Presenters:
Lauren Richardson, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, United States
Manessa Riser, BS, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit MI USA (Session Chair)
Chaela Nutor, Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
Anna M. Zhou, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado; Department of Psychology, University of Denver, United Stages
Symposium Description:
The intergenerational transmission of experience, emotions, and behaviors can significantly influence mental health outcomes. Trauma and adversity, in particular, can have far-reaching effects – altering parental practices, influencing neurobiological development, and affecting offspring resilience. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for developing targeted interventions that interrupt cycles of trauma and foster well-being across generations. This symposium, sponsored by the ISDP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, will explore familial and community-level mechanisms through which both risk and resilience to psychopathology may be transmitted intergenerationally, using data from animal and human models.
First, Ms. Lauren Richardson will use a translational rodent model examining the effects of gestational buprenorphine–a common treatment for opioid use disorders–on maternal caregiving. Results reveal that exposure impairs maternal behaviors critical to offspring survival and development, highlighting disruptions to the maternal network that persist even when drug use ceases before birth. Building on the theme of maternal history and its intergenerational effects, Ms. Manessa Riser will present psychophysiological data from 39 mother-child dyads recruited from metro Detroit, demonstrating that maternal childhood abuse is linked to children’s heightened fear responses and impaired fear regulation. Importantly, parenting stress intensifies these effects, suggesting both a possible avenue for transmission of risk as well as a pathway for intervention. While parental experiences and psychopathology have previously been linked to individual differences in child outcomes, less work has explored the role of parental nutrition factors, such as vitamin D deficiency. Ms. Chaela Nutor will present longitudinal data from 207 Black mother-child dyads with the goal of tracking associations between maternal prenatal depression, prenatal vitamin D, and child’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits at age 2. This research identified a critical role of balanced vitamin D levels during pregnancy, a modifiable target. Finally, Dr. Anna Zhou will explore how neighborhood opportunity influences emotional expression in toddlers during frustration tasks. Among 202 Early Head Start families from predominantly Latinx backgrounds, this study shows how neighborhood opportunity affects socioemotional development and psychopathology risk, calling for broader policy-related action to drive positive change.
The four studies will be summarized by Dr. Yo Jackson. Dr. Jackson brings expertise in intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience. She will serve as discussant, integrating findings and discussing implications for clinical practice, community interventions, and policy aimed at breaking cycles of adversity.
Symposium 6: THE MATERNAL METABOLIC-INFLAMMATORY NEXUS: IMPACTS ON FETAL AND INFANT DEVELOPMENT
Chair:
Lauren C. Shuffrey, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, United States
Discussant:
Brie M. Reid, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology Department of Health Sciences Center for Cognitive and Brain Health Northeastern University, Boston, United States
Presenters:
Michael K. Georgieff, MD, Executive Vice Chair & Martin Lenz Harrison Land Grant Professor, Division of Neonatology; Faculty, Department of Pediatrics; Director, Center for Neurobehavioral Development; Co-Director, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB); Faculty, Institute of Child Development; Faculty, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health (OBGYN); Preceptor & Steering Committee Member, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
Sarah M. Banker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, United States
Kate Keenan, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience; Professor of Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, United States
Elinor L. Sullivan, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine; Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Center for Mental Health Innovation, Oregon Health & Science University, United States
Symposium Description:
Throughout pregnancy, the maternal body undergoes significant changes to support the developing fetus, including adaptations in immune and metabolic functions. In this symposium, we explore the intricate interplay between maternal inflammation and metabolic health, and their profound impacts on fetal brain development and infant outcomes. Our presentations will delve into the mechanisms by which maternal inflammation influences nutrient delivery, metabolic pathways, birth outcomes, and long-term neurodevelopment, providing a comprehensive understanding of these critical processes across species and time points. Dr. Michael K. Georgieff will discuss how maternal inflammation alters nutrient delivery and metabolism, particularly affecting the fetal brain, in both preclinical and human samples. He will also highlight the cellular pathways by which inflammation impacts long-term neurodevelopment. Sarah M. Banker will present findings from the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, examining inflammatory changes across pregnancy in a diverse human sample. She will additionally identify pro- and anti-inflammatory markers linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes and their potential role in neurobehavioral development. Dr. Kate Keenan will focus on systemic inflammation as a marker for cardiometabolic disease risk in Black women. She will present data on the predictive utility of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels during and after pregnancy for identifying individuals at risk for poor cardiometabolic health. Finally, Dr. Elinor L. Sullivan will explore the kynurenine (KYN) pathway as a mechanistic link between maternal adiposity and child negative affect. Her findings suggests that alterations in KYN metabolites during pregnancy are associated with increased child negative affectivity, highlighting potential biomarkers and targets for intervention. Dr. Brie Reid will serve as the symposium discussant, facilitating conversation on interactions between the immune and metabolic systems during pregnancy and their impact on birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Together, these presentations will provide a comprehensive overview of how maternal inflammation and metabolic health influence fetal and infant development across species and developmental time points. These findings hold promise for identifying biomarkers and informing interventions aimed at improving maternal and child outcomes.
Symposium 7: THE IMPACT OF ELA ON THE DEVELOPING BRAIN: CLARIFYING SPATIOTEMPORAL CASCADES
Chair:
Jennifer Silvers, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
Presenters:
Tallie Z. Baram, MD, PhD., Distinguished & Bren Professor, University of California- Irvine, United States
Dylan Gee, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, United Stats
Jennifer Silvers, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, United States, Session Chair
Heather Brenhouse, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Northeastern University
Symposium Description:
The statistical link between exposure to early life adversity (ELA) in infancy and childhood and alteration of motivated behaviors later in life, including those characteristic of cognitive and mental illnesses, is exceptionally strong. However, in human studies alone it is difficult to prove causality and establish the specific neural mechanisms and the temporal cascades that unfold after ELA exposure. In this symposium, we first ask where in the brain is ELA encoded, and whether the neurons and node encoding ELA contribute to ELA-induced alterations of reward behaviors (Dr. Baram), capitalizing on animal models. Next we address, in children and adolescents, several of the circuits whose developmental maturation is impacted by ELA, and the consequent behavioral problems (Dr. Gee). We then center on ambiguity perception and learning, core features of both typical emotional and cognitive development as well as anxiety – a common outcome of ELA – across development (Dr. Silvers). Again, leveraging an animal model, we discuss how neuronal populations responsive to ELA are reactivated when encoding risky behaviors in the face of ambiguous punishment (Dr. Brenhouse). Collectively, this symposium will delineate the spatiotemporal cascade between encoding of infant/childhood ELA to alteration of circuit maturation, to the impact of ELA on fundamental brain processes such as ambiguity perception, which typify ELA-associated outcomes in the real world. Consistent with the ISDP mission, this symposium will integrate research across species and different developmental stages, and the use of diverse, inter-disciplinary technologies.