Early Infant Amygdala Resting State Functional Connectivity Protects Against The Impact Of High Levels Of Caregiver Depression And Anxiety On Reducing Infant Positive Emotionality

Rapid development of infant positive and negative emotionality (PE, NE) and neurodevelopment occur in the first year of life. We previously reported in 3-month infants that white matter structure in a key tract implicated in emotional regulation, the uncinate fasciculus, was the most robust, significant predictor of NE 6 months later. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying the development of early infant PE and NE, and the impact of caregiver mood disorders and emotional instability on these relationships, remain largely unknown.