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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Published on: June 13, 2021

Income Instability During Pregnancy Prospectively Relates to Postpartum Brain Function for Parent-Infant Bonding.

Pilyoung Kim¹, Yun Xie², Genevieve Patterson²

¹Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado; Department of Psychology, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.

Biological Psychiatry. Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging

|March 16, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Prenatal income loss during pregnancy can negatively impact parental brain responses to infant cues, increasing risks for postpartum depression. Conversely, income gains may enhance brain function related to caregiving and attachment.

Keywords:

Economic instability Parent-infant attachment Parental brain Perinatal mood Pregnancy

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Public Health

Background:

Pregnancy is a critical period of neuroplasticity.
Environmental stressors during pregnancy can affect parent-infant bonding and perinatal mental health.
Chronic poverty is linked to adverse parenting, but the impact of income instability during pregnancy on parental brain adaptation is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine how prenatal income changes prospectively influence neurobiological responses to infant distress cues in birthing individuals.
To investigate the relationship between income instability during pregnancy and parental brain function in the early postpartum period.

Main Methods:

fMRI scans were used to measure brain activity in 120 birthing individuals.
Participants listened to their own and a control infant's cry and matched white noise.
Monthly income data across pregnancy were used to calculate income-to-needs ratio, losses, and gains.

Main Results:

Income losses during pregnancy were associated with dampened brain responses to infant cry (motor, auditory, empathy cortices), linked to impaired caregiving sensitivity and increased risk for postpartum depression.
These neurobiological changes paralleled elevated prenatal depression and anxiety symptoms.
Income gains were associated with increased activation in prefrontal regions (cognitive empathy, emotion regulation) in response to one's own infant's cry, and linked to stronger postnatal attachment.

Conclusions:

Prenatal income instability is associated with variations in postpartum brain responses within caregiving and parent-infant bonding circuits.
Prenatal income loss is linked to prenatal mood symptoms, suggesting screening for economic instability during prenatal care can identify families needing support.
Early identification of economic instability can facilitate access to mental health resources and other supports for at-risk families.