Cortical surface alterations in cingulate and frontal regulatory areas underlies insensitive mothering

Abstract

This study focuses on severe insensitive or neglectful mothering, the most prevalent type of child maltreatment, to examine cortical surface feature alterations underlying maternal functioning and their impact on mother-child interactive bonding. High-resolution 3D volumetric images were obtained on 24 neglectful (NM) and 21 non-neglectful control (CM) mothers. Using surface-based morphometry, we compared differences in cortical thickness and surface area. Mothers completed alexithymia and cortical integrity measures and participated with their children in a play task (Emotional Availability Scale). We found cortical thinning for NM in the right rostral middle frontal gyrus and the right anterior/medial cingulate cortex, and also increased surface area in the right occipital lingual and fusiform areas and the caudal middle frontal area. Mediation analyses showed that cognitive integrity and alexithymia mediated, respectively, the positive and negative effect of the rostral middle frontal gyrus on Emotional Availability. The findings suggest cortical thinning in the rostral frontal area underlying high-order regulatory functioning as being critical for poor maternal self-awareness of emotions and the organization of coordinated actions during mother-child interactive bonding.