# Mother-Infant Biobehavioral Synchrony and Postpartum Depression

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $787,674

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Infant brain and regulatory systems develop rapidly in the first months of life and set the stage for healthy
behavioral and emotional development. Research shows that these systems are shaped, to a large extent, by
the postpartum caregiving environment. In particular, mother-infant interactions that are characterized by shared
positive affect and mutually responsive behavior facilitate the development of infant emotional self-regulation via
mother-infant co-regulation of homeostatic and neural systems. In the context of postpartum depression (PPD)
however, growing evidence suggests that these processes are disrupted with potentially long-term adverse
implications for the infant. However, several critical gaps remain. First, little is known about the neural substrates
of dyadic co-regulation despite the promise of recent advances in portable neuroimaging tools (i.e., near-infrared
spectroscopy [NIRS] hyperscanning). Second, although positively valenced systems are fundamental to healthy
adjustment and to strengths-based parent-child behavioral interventions, research has focused predominantly
on negative affect and deficit models. Third, there is a lack of longitudinal research examining developmental
change in co-regulatory behaviors and PPD severity that could inform preventive interventions. The proposed
study aims to fill these gaps, and is supported by preliminary proof-of-concept data that mothers and children
show concordant responding in medial frontal and lateral frontal regions, which are implicated in social cognition,
bonding, and mentalizing, and that positive synchronous interactions heighten these concordant responses. The
Specific Aims are to: 1) Characterize mother-infant bio-behavioral synchrony (matching of affective behavior and
brain response) at 3 months postpartum; 2) Examine concurrent and prospective associations between PPD
severity and mother-infant positive bio-behavioral synchrony; and 3) Examine the extent to which improvements
in mother-infant positive bio-behavioral synchrony predict infant emotional regulation. Using a case-control
design, we will recruit 176 women endorsing PPD (n=140 at study completion) and 87 women with no prior
history of depression (n=70 at study completion) with their 3-month-old infants and conduct three research visits
in the home environment to increase participation of difficult-to-reach and vulnerable families. We will assess
bio-behavioral synchrony in mother-infant face-to-face interactions at 3-, 6- and 9-months during simultaneous
mother-infant NIRS. Micro-analytic coding will provide moment-to-moment measures of positive and negative
affect and contingent responding, and NIRS will provide measures of dyadic concordance in mother and infant
anterior medial and lateral prefrontal cortical activity. Change in PPD will be assessed via clinical interviews at
each home visit, in addition to monthly screening from 3 to 9 months. Infant emotional self-regulation will be
assessed ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10771266
- **Project number:** 5R01MH129308-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** ALISON E HIPWELL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $787,674
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2027-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10771266

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10771266, Mother-Infant Biobehavioral Synchrony and Postpartum Depression (5R01MH129308-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10771266. Licensed CC0.

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