Reduced Child-Oriented Face Mirroring Brain Responses in Mothers With Opioid Use Disorder: An Exploratory Study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnant women is rising, with buprenorphine treatment (BT) used for peripartum care.
• Opioid sensitivity of maternal behavior neurocircuits (MBN) may alter maternal bonding and behavior in mothers with OUD.
• Brain regions like the ventral pallidum (VP) and supplementary motor area (SMA) regulate maternal behaviors and are affected by opioids.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how brain regions within the MBN respond to child's emotions in mothers receiving BT.
• To compare neural responses between mothers with OUD on BT and non-OUD mothers using a child face mirroring task.

Main Methods:

• A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study involving 22 mothers (6 on BT/OUD, 16 comparison group).
• Participants viewed own and unknown child's facial expressions (neutral, ambiguous, distressed, joyful) in empathic mirroring (Join) and observation (Observe) conditions.
• fMRI assessed brain activity, focusing on SMA and VP responses.

Main Results:

• Reduced SMA response during empathic mirroring of own child in mothers on BT/OUD compared to the control group.
• A similar deficit was observed in the left VP, a region crucial for parental sensitivity.
• These findings suggest potential neural alterations in mothers with OUD undergoing BT.

Conclusions:

• Deficits in neural responses to child's emotions may impact maternal sensitivity and parenting in mothers with OUD on BT.
• Identifying these neural mechanisms can inform interventions to improve maternal behavior and child outcomes.
• Targeting stress reduction and augmenting maternal behavior are potential therapeutic avenues.