Delineating the developmental sequelae of children's risky involvement in interparental conflict

The present study examined the developmental value of parsing different forms of children's risky involvement in interparental conflict as predictors of children's subsequent psychological adjustment. Participants included a diverse sample of 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.6 years) and their mothers across two measurement occasions spaced 2 years apart. Three forms of risky involvement (i.e., cautious, caregiving, and coercive) were identified using maternal narratives describing children's emotional and behavioral reactivity during and immediately following interparental conflict. Utilizing a multimethod, multi-informant design, findings revealed that each form of involvement prospectively predicted unique configurations of children's developmental outcomes. Greater coercive involvement was associated with higher levels of externalizing problems, callous and unemotional traits, and extraversion. Higher levels of caregiving involvement were linked with greater separation anxiety. Finally, cautious involvement predicted more separation anxiety and social withdrawal.

Maternal reactivity of ewes at lambing is genetically linked to their behavioral reactivity in an arena test

In sheep, the bond between the dam and her lambs is established during the first hours of a lamb s life. Genetic variability for behavioral reactivity of ewes assessed in an arena test performed 24 h after lambing has already been reported. However, there is no evidence that this reactivity represents the ewe s maternal reactivity at lambing in outdoor conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate whether or not the behavioral reactivity of ewes in the arena test is genetically related to their maternal reactivity measured at lambing. A total of 935 Romane ewes were studied. The maternal reactivity of ewes at the outdoor lambing site was recorded in response to a human approach and to the handling of the lambs. Their behavioral reactivity was also recorded 24 h post-lambing in the arena test that involved a separation from the litter and a human presence. Flight distance, aggressive reaction, time to restore contact with the litter at the lambing site and maternal behavior scores were moderately heritable (0.18 to 0.34), and vocalizations were slightly heritable (0.16). All of these behaviors were genetically correlated with the behavioral reactivity in the arena test. The highest genetic correlations (from 0.60 to 0.90) were found for maternal behavioral scores, flight distance and high-pitched bleats. In conclusion, behavioral reactivity in the arena test can be used to assess early maternal reactivity in standardized conditions. Such phenotyping could be used for genetic improvement of maternal behavior in sheep.

Preliminary Evidence That Resting State Heart Rate Variability Predicts Reactivity to Tactile Stimuli in Rett Syndrome

Patients with Rett syndrome may manifest altered pain perception/experience and are vulnerable to conditions associated with chronic pain. Pain response is difficult to measure, however, because of severe communicative impairment. There is also documented autonomic dysfunction, including decreased heart rate variability. Given the relation between pain and the autonomic nervous system, we tested the feasibility of using resting heart rate variability to predict nonverbal pain/discomfort behavior during a standardized modified quantitative sensory test in Rett syndrome. All stimulus applications resulted in increased behavioral reactivity compared to baseline, with repeated von Frey significantly greater than all other stimuli. Resting heart rate variability predicted behavioral reactivity to repeated von Frey. These preliminary findings provide feasibility evidence for an integrated autonomic-sensory measurement approach and are consistent at a construct level with preclinical evidence in Rett syndrome. Further work is needed to determine how heart rate variability changes during stimulus application.

Investigating the Feasibility of a Modified Quantitative Sensory Testing Approach to Profile Sensory Function and Predict Pain Outcomes Following Intrathecal Baclofen Implant Surgery in Cerebral Palsy

Objectives Intrathecal baclofen (ITB) pumps used to manage spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP) also improve pain outcomes for some but not all patients. The purpose of this clinical feasibility study was to explore whether a quantitative sensory testing approach could a) be modified and used to subgroup individuals into sensory profiles and b) test whether the profiles were related to postimplant pain outcomes (i.e., pain responsive or pain persistent). Subjects A purposeful clinical sample of nine children with CP (mean age = 12.5 years, male = 56%) and complex communication needs participated. Methods A prospective within-subject design was used to measure proxy-reported pain before and after ITB implant. Pain response status was determined by proxy-reported pain intensity change (>50% change in maximum rated intensity). A modified quantitative sensory testing (mQST) procedure was used to assess behavioral responsivity to an array of calibrated sensory (tactile/acute nociceptive) stimuli before surgery. Results Seven individuals with presurgical pain had mQST differentiated sensory profiles in relation to ITB pain outcomes and relative to the two individuals with no pain. Presurgically, the ITB pain responsive subgroup (N = 3, maximum rated pain intensity decreased >50% after ITB implant) showed increased behavioral reactivity to an acute nociceptive stimulus and cold stimulus, whereas the ITB pain persistent subgroup (N = 4) showed reduced behavioral reactivity to cold and repeated von Frey stimulation relative to the no pain individuals. Conclusion Implications for patient selection criteria and stratification to presurgically identify individuals with CP “at risk” for persistent postprocedure pain are discussed.