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Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
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Prenatal Parental Psychosocial Determinants of Neonatal Brain Structure: A Latent Variable Approach in the FinnBrain

Boglarka Zsofia Kovacs1, Alexander Neumann1, Elmo P Pulli2

  • 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Biological Psychiatry. Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
|February 27, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Parental mental health during pregnancy impacts neonatal brain development. Paternal well-being is linked to white matter microstructure, while maternal well-being is associated with brain volume.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Maternal mental health influences early neurodevelopment.
  • The specific roles of parental psychosocial factors in neonatal brain structure are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the associations between prenatal parental psychosocial factors and neonatal brain morphometry and white matter microstructure.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized structural and diffusion MRI data from 174 neonates.
  • Collected psychosocial data from mothers and fathers during pregnancy.
  • Employed exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to analyze data.

Main Results:

  • Identified four maternal and two paternal latent psychosocial factors.
  • Maternal mental health and well-being correlated with larger neonatal intracranial volume.
  • Paternal mental health and well-being associated with altered white matter microstructure in specific brain tracts.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal parental psychosocial health is linked to subtle differences in neonatal brain architecture.
  • Highlights the importance of comprehensive parental mental health research and integrated care models for intergenerational health outcomes.
Abstract

Keywords:
Latent factor analysisNeonatal brain structureParental psychosocial well-beingPrenatal programmingStructural equation modelingWhite matter microstructure

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