Positive parenting predicts the development of adolescent brain structure: A longitudinal study

S Whittle; JG Simmons; M Dennison; N Vijayakumar; O Schwartz; MBH Yap; L Sheeber; NB Allen

Journal article

Positive parenting predicts the development of adolescent brain structure: A longitudinal study

S Whittle, JG Simmons, M Dennison, N Vijayakumar, O Schwartz, MBH Yap, L Sheeber, NB Allen

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience | Published : 2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2013.10.006

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Abstract

Little work has been conducted that examines the effects of positive environmental experiences on brain development to date. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the effects of positive (warm and supportive) maternal behavior on structural brain development during adolescence, using longitudinal structural MRI. Participants were 188 (92 female) adolescents, who were part of a longitudinal adolescent development study that involved mother-adolescent interactions and MRI scans at approximately 12 years old, and follow-up MRI scans approximately 4 years later. FreeSurfer software was used to estimate the volume of limbic-striatal regions (amygdala, hippocampus, caudate, putame..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Sarah Whittle Author

Julian Simmons Author

Orli Schwartz Author

Nick Allen Author

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Awarded by University of Melbourne

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the Colonial Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; Australia; Program Grant 350241), the Australian Research Council (ARC; Discovery Grant DP0878136), and the University of Melbourne. Dr. Whittle is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (ID: 1007716).