Thesis
Prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication and fetal cerebral blood flow dynamics: links with temperament in the first six months
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2017
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101516
Abstract
Maternal prenatal depression is a significant health problem, given documented associations with negative affect, childhood externalizing behaviors, and lifelong mental health risk in offspring. Currently, frontline treatments for clinical depression typically include the use of medication, the most frequently prescribed being selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. However, in utero SSRI exposure has been linked with detrimental effects both on physical development and on temperament detected as early as infancy. The current study involved secondary correlation and regression analyses with data collected from a sample of 100 pregnant women, 37 of whom were treated with SSRI antidepressants during the pregnancy. Associations between fetal middle cerebral artery pulsatility, an index of cerebral blood flow taken in the early afternoon at 36 weeks gestation following a regular SSRI dose, and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire, reflective of infant temperament at 3 and 6 months of age, were examined. Prenatal maternal internalizing symptoms were used as a covariate, and pulsatility was considered as a moderator of SSRI exposure effects on infant temperament at 6 months and of changes in temperament from 3 to 6 months, reflecting developmental shifts from early to mid-infancy. Fetal middle cerebral artery pulsatility significantly predicted the IBQ Fear subscale, wherein higher blood flow corresponded to greater measures of infant fear at 6 months. Regression terms representing an interaction between SSRI exposure status and pulsatility trended toward significance in models predicting Fear and Soothability. These results have implications for future research and clinical decision-making regarding SSRI use to treat maternal prenatal depression.
Metrics
8 File views/ downloads
22 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication and fetal cerebral blood flow dynamics
- Creators
- Alyssa Alexandra Neumann
- Contributors
- Maria A. Gartstein (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Psychology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525038601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis