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Perceptual interference processing in preschool children, with and without prenatal exposure to selective serotonin

Tone Kristine Hermansen1, Santeri Yrttiaho2, Espen Røysamb3,4

  • 1The Cognitive Developmental Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3a, 0373, Oslo, Norway. t.k.hermansen@psykologi.uio.no.

Psychopharmacology
|November 10, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal exposure to maternal depression did not directly impact children's interference suppression abilities. However, neural responses suggest potential effects on cognitive efficiency, particularly in children exposed to maternal depression or SSRI treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Maternal depression during pregnancy may negatively affect child development.
  • Interference suppression is a key aspect of behavioral regulation.
  • This study examines cognitive and neural aspects of interference suppression in preschoolers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate behavioral and neural indices of interference suppression in children with prenatal exposure to maternal depression.
  • To compare children exposed to maternal depression with and without antidepressant treatment to unexposed controls.
  • To assess the impact of prenatal exposure on cognitive control mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Eighty preschoolers (21 SSRI-exposed, 33 depression-exposed, 26 controls) completed a flanker task.
  • Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during the task.
  • Analysis focused on N2 and Late Slow Wave (LSW) potentials in relation to response times and flanker congruence.

Main Results:

  • All groups showed expected interference effects in behavioral and ERP measures.
  • N2 and LSW amplitudes varied with response speed across all groups.
  • No direct group differences in interference suppression abilities were observed, but parietal N2 latency showed an interaction with response time and group.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal exposure to maternal depression or SSRIs was not directly linked to deficits in interference suppression.
  • Response times were associated with N2 and LSW potentials.
  • The interaction on N2 latency suggests potential subtle effects of prenatal exposure on neural efficiency in cognitive control.
Abstract

Keywords:
DepressionERPInterference suppressionPrenatal exposureSSRIThe Norwegian mother and child cohort study (MoBa)

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