Association between parental age, brain structure, and behavioral and cognitive problems in children
Jingnan Du1,2, Edmund T Rolls1,3,4, Weikang Gong5
1Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
Molecular Psychiatry
|October 15, 2021
Summary
Children of younger mothers show more behavioral and cognitive issues, linked to smaller brain volumes. These brain differences mediate the impact of younger parental age on child development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Parental age is a factor influencing child development.
- Previous research suggests links between parental age and child outcomes, but the underlying mechanisms require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between parental age and behavioral, cognitive, and brain differences in children.
- To determine if brain structure differences mediate the association between parental age and behavioral/cognitive outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 8709 mother-child pairs (children aged 9-11) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.
- Utilized a general linear model to assess associations between maternal age (15-45 years) and child brain structure, behavior, and cognition.
- Investigated mediation effects of cortical volumes on the parental age-child outcome relationship.
Main Results:
- Children of younger mothers exhibited greater behavioral and cognitive problems.
- These problems were associated with reduced volumes in specific cortical regions (e.g., anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, hippocampus).
- A significant linear correlation (r > 0.6) was found between behavioral/cognitive scores and lower brain volumes, with mediation confirmed (p < 10^-4).
Conclusions:
- Lower parental age is linked to increased behavioral problems and reduced cognitive performance in children.
- These effects are mediated by lower volumes in specific brain regions.
- Findings are significant for psychiatric understanding and assessment of child development.
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