In a study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, researchers looked at 48 pairs of black mothers and babies starting in the first trimester of pregnancy. Mothers completed questionnaires to assess childhood traumas, such as childhood abuse and emotional withdrawal from parents. All mothers were assessed for their current levels of prenatal stress, including depression and anxiety. One month after birth, the babies underwent resting functional magnetic resonance imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) brain scans, a non-invasive brain scan that can be used on babies while they are sleeping. The researchers found that children of mothers who suffered psychological trauma during childhood had more connections between the amygdala and the frontal cortical regions. The findings indicate that childhood traumas can be passed down from generation to generation. According to the scientists, the neural signature they observed in one-month-old babies "may be a mechanism leading to an increased risk of developing anxiety." It could also be "a compensatory mechanism that promotes resilience if his parents are emotionally detached." Research shows that neural imprints of fear and anxiety are passed from mother to child, but scientists are not yet aware of the implications of this transmission. More research is required to learn more about this.
