Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study
IntroductionPrenatal maternal stress may predispose a child to alterations in neurodevelopment and future psychopathology. Meanwhile, environmental disasters related to climate change are increasing in severity with significant impacts on physical and mental health. The current study explores the re...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1481347/full |
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| author | A. Duke Shereen Donato DeIngeniis Donato DeIngeniis Tingting Wu Md. Shafiur Rahman Md. Shafiur Rahman Melissa Blum Jeffrey H. Newcorn Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura |
| author_facet | A. Duke Shereen Donato DeIngeniis Donato DeIngeniis Tingting Wu Md. Shafiur Rahman Md. Shafiur Rahman Melissa Blum Jeffrey H. Newcorn Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura |
| author_sort | A. Duke Shereen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionPrenatal maternal stress may predispose a child to alterations in neurodevelopment and future psychopathology. Meanwhile, environmental disasters related to climate change are increasing in severity with significant impacts on physical and mental health. The current study explores the relationships among child behaviors, brain morphometry, and weather-related in-utero stress during Superstorm Sandy (SS).MethodsParents completed the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) to quantify the extent of adaptive and clinical (externalizing/internalizing) behaviors at age 5. Magnetic resonance imaging of 9 SS-exposed and 21 non-exposed children at age 8 was used to assess brain volume. We analyzed main effects of in-utero SS exposure on brain volume/behavior and mediation-moderation models of exposure, behaviors and brain volume to determine how the association between exposure and brain volume is influenced by early childhood behavioral phenotypes. ResultsThe SS-exposed group had significantly greater externalizing behavioral problems, bilateral amygdala enlargement, and volumetric reduction of the left medial orbitofrontal cortex. While no behavioral phenotype mediated the association of exposure with brain volume, adaptive behaviors, as measured by four subdomains of the BASC-2 (social skills, activities in daily life, functional communication, and adaptivity), moderated the adverse impact of in-utero stress on brain volume later in life. DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of evaluating the interactive relationships among in-utero stress, behaviors, and neural development of the child to facilitate early identification and intervention for more vulnerable children. Promoting adaptive behaviors in early childhood may minimize the deleterious impact of prenatal stress exposure on subsequent brain development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bf0ab9c05e5c43ab8d8052dfdc61ca14 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-bf0ab9c05e5c43ab8d8052dfdc61ca142025-07-17T13:55:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-07-011610.3389/fpsyt.2025.14813471481347Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot studyA. Duke Shereen0Donato DeIngeniis1Donato DeIngeniis2Tingting Wu3Md. Shafiur Rahman4Md. Shafiur Rahman5Melissa Blum6Jeffrey H. Newcorn7Yoko Nomura8Yoko Nomura9Yoko Nomura10Yoko Nomura11Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, Neuroscience Initiative, City University of New York, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United StatesBeijing Key Lab of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, ChinaGraduate School of Health Innovation, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Kawasaki, JapanResearch Centre for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, JapanDepartment of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, United StatesIntroductionPrenatal maternal stress may predispose a child to alterations in neurodevelopment and future psychopathology. Meanwhile, environmental disasters related to climate change are increasing in severity with significant impacts on physical and mental health. The current study explores the relationships among child behaviors, brain morphometry, and weather-related in-utero stress during Superstorm Sandy (SS).MethodsParents completed the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) to quantify the extent of adaptive and clinical (externalizing/internalizing) behaviors at age 5. Magnetic resonance imaging of 9 SS-exposed and 21 non-exposed children at age 8 was used to assess brain volume. We analyzed main effects of in-utero SS exposure on brain volume/behavior and mediation-moderation models of exposure, behaviors and brain volume to determine how the association between exposure and brain volume is influenced by early childhood behavioral phenotypes. ResultsThe SS-exposed group had significantly greater externalizing behavioral problems, bilateral amygdala enlargement, and volumetric reduction of the left medial orbitofrontal cortex. While no behavioral phenotype mediated the association of exposure with brain volume, adaptive behaviors, as measured by four subdomains of the BASC-2 (social skills, activities in daily life, functional communication, and adaptivity), moderated the adverse impact of in-utero stress on brain volume later in life. DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of evaluating the interactive relationships among in-utero stress, behaviors, and neural development of the child to facilitate early identification and intervention for more vulnerable children. Promoting adaptive behaviors in early childhood may minimize the deleterious impact of prenatal stress exposure on subsequent brain development.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1481347/fullnatural disasterprenatal stressMRIlimbicbrainbehavior |
| spellingShingle | A. Duke Shereen Donato DeIngeniis Donato DeIngeniis Tingting Wu Md. Shafiur Rahman Md. Shafiur Rahman Melissa Blum Jeffrey H. Newcorn Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura Yoko Nomura Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study Frontiers in Psychiatry natural disaster prenatal stress MRI limbic brain behavior |
| title | Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study |
| title_full | Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study |
| title_fullStr | Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study |
| title_short | Behavioral moderators of In-utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto-limbic cortical development—potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies, a pilot study |
| title_sort | behavioral moderators of in utero superstorm sandy exposure and fronto limbic cortical development potential role of adaptiveness in clinical intervention strategies a pilot study |
| topic | natural disaster prenatal stress MRI limbic brain behavior |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1481347/full |
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