Maternal depression and warmth during childhood predict age 20 neural response to reward

Early parenting experiences likely shape children's brain development, with consequences potentially extending into adulthood. Parents' affective disorders and expressions of positive affect could exert an influence on affect-related circuitry. The current study evaluated how maternal depression and maternal warmth assessed in early childhood and early adolescence were related to boys' reward function during early adulthood.

Participants were 120 boys at socioeconomic risk for emotional problems. Mothers' history of depression during the child's lifetime was measured when boys were 42 months old and 10 and 11 years old. Maternal warmth was observed during mother-child interactions at 18 and 24 months and at 10 and 11 years.

Maternal warmth during early childhood was associated with less activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) when anticipating and experiencing reward loss. Maternal warmth during early adolescence was associated with less activation in the mPFC when winning rewards and greater activation in the caudate when experiencing loss. The association between maternal warmth during early childhood and early adolescence and reward function in the striatum and mPFC was stronger for boys exposed to maternal depression relative to boys who were not.

The experience of warmth and affection from mothers may be a protective factor for reward function in boys exposed to maternal depression, possibly by engaging vulnerable neural reward systems through affiliation.