Longitudinal associations between mother-child attachment security in toddlerhood and white matter microstructure in late childhood: a preliminary investigation

Early childhood experiences are considered to influence the strength and effectiveness of neural connections and thus the development of brain connectivity. As one of the most pervasive and potent early relational experiences, parent-child attachment is a prime candidate to account for experience-driven differences in brain development. Yet, knowledge of the effects of parent-child attachment on brain structure in typically developing children is scarce and largely limited to grey matter, whereas caregiving influences on white matter (i.e. neural connections) have seldom been explored. This study examined whether normative variation in mother-child attachment security predicts white matter microstructure in late childhood and explored associations with cognitive-inhibition. Mother-child attachment security was assessed using home observations when children (N = 32, 20 girls) were 15 and 26 months old. White matter microstructure was assessed using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging when children were 10 years old. Child cognitive-inhibition was tested when children were 11 years old. Results revealed a negative association between mother-toddler attachment security and child white matter microstructure organization, which in turn related to better child cognitive-inhibition. While preliminary given the sample size, these findings add to the growing literature that suggests that rich and positive experiences are likely to decelerate brain development.