# Effects of maternal opioid use disorder on neural and behavioral indicators of caregiving

> **NIH NIH F32** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $65,066

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major public health problem with a high cost burden and multi-
generational adverse consequences. In particular, rates of OUD during pregnancy and postpartum have
quadrupled in the last two decades and pose a critical threat to maternal caregiving during the sensitive period
of infancy. While extant research points to the negative effects of maternal addiction on parenting behavior and
child outcomes—including increased risk of later substance use problems in offspring—little is known about the
caregiving effects of maternal addiction to opioids in particular. This gap in research extends to our understanding
of neural mechanisms that underlie caregiving behavior, which have yet to be examined in mothers with OUD.
In line with NIDA’s Strategic Objectives 1.3 and 4.1, the overall goal of the proposed multi-method research
study is to provide novel data on the specific early caregiving consequences of maternal OUD across neural,
behavioral, and self-report levels of analysis. As an add-on to an existing study of maternal opioid use trajectories
following pregnancy, this study will evaluate neural and behavioral caregiving indicators at 5-months postpartum,
and infant socio-emotional development at 6-months postpartum, in mothers receiving medication assisted
treatment (MAT) for OUD and demographically-matched control mothers without OUD. Aim 1 will utilize event-
related potentials (ERP) to examine differences in neural response to infant cues in mothers with OUD compared
to controls. Aim 2 will examine differences in self-reported and observed caregiving in mothers with and without
OUD and will test associations between mothers’ neural responses to infant cues and self-reported and observed
caregiving behavior. Aim 3 will examine links between mothers’ neural responses to infant cues and infant socio-
emotional development, and between maternal caregiving and infant socio-emotional development, in both
groups. The exploratory aim will use latent profile analysis to identify patterns of neural responses in mothers
and test whether these patterns are associated with maternal OUD status and caregiving. Overall, this research
will identify neural and behavioral caregiving correlates of maternal OUD during the critical postpartum period
that will advance current knowledge on the consequences of maternal OUD and inform future interventions with
mothers with opioid use problems. Findings can therefore support efforts to improve caregiving and prevent
negative child outcomes, including the intergenerational transmission of substance use disorders, in families with
maternal opioid addiction. In line with these study aims, the proposed training plan, supported by the sponsor
and five additional faculty experts, includes goals to build substantive knowledge in parental addiction and
parent-infant relationships as well as methodological skills in EEG/ERP measurement and observational
assessment. This proposal wi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10534485
- **Project number:** 1F32DA055389-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Francesca Penner
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $65,066
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-15 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10534485

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10534485, Effects of maternal opioid use disorder on neural and behavioral indicators of caregiving (1F32DA055389-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10534485. Licensed CC0.

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