TY - JOUR
T1 - A neurobiological model for the effects of early brainstem functioning on the development of behavior and emotion regulation in infants: implications for prenatal and perinatal risk
AU - Geva, R.
AU - Feldman, R.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Neurobiological models propose an evolutionary, vertical-integrative perspective on emotion and
behavior regulation, which postulates that regulatory functions are processed along three core brain
systems: the brainstem, limbic, and cortical systems. To date, few developmental studies applied these
models to research on prenatal and perinatal risk. We propose a conceptual model that incorporates
three integrated levels of observations for the study of early risk: (a) brainstem-related physiological
regulation of cyclic processes and sensory integration, e.g., vagal regulation, circadian rhythms;
(b) emotion and attention regulation capacities that draw on the integration of brainstem and limbic
systems; and (c) higher-level outcomes that draw on the intactness of brainstem and limbic networks,
including socio-emotional self-regulation, inhibitory control, and cognitive processing. We discuss
implications of the model for the development of regulatory capacities during the prenatal and early
postnatal stages in infants born with specific perinatal risk. We underscore the importance of assessing
sub-cortical and brainstem systems and the longitudinal effects of transitory brainstem dysfunction on
physiological homeostasis, motivation, arousal-modulated attention, stress reactivity, and motherinfant
co-regulation. The assessment of brainstem dysfunction can be conducted during hospitalization
and may help detect infants at risk for the development of self-regulatory deficits at the first weeks
of life
AB - Neurobiological models propose an evolutionary, vertical-integrative perspective on emotion and
behavior regulation, which postulates that regulatory functions are processed along three core brain
systems: the brainstem, limbic, and cortical systems. To date, few developmental studies applied these
models to research on prenatal and perinatal risk. We propose a conceptual model that incorporates
three integrated levels of observations for the study of early risk: (a) brainstem-related physiological
regulation of cyclic processes and sensory integration, e.g., vagal regulation, circadian rhythms;
(b) emotion and attention regulation capacities that draw on the integration of brainstem and limbic
systems; and (c) higher-level outcomes that draw on the intactness of brainstem and limbic networks,
including socio-emotional self-regulation, inhibitory control, and cognitive processing. We discuss
implications of the model for the development of regulatory capacities during the prenatal and early
postnatal stages in infants born with specific perinatal risk. We underscore the importance of assessing
sub-cortical and brainstem systems and the longitudinal effects of transitory brainstem dysfunction on
physiological homeostasis, motivation, arousal-modulated attention, stress reactivity, and motherinfant
co-regulation. The assessment of brainstem dysfunction can be conducted during hospitalization
and may help detect infants at risk for the development of self-regulatory deficits at the first weeks
of life
UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01918.x/pdf
M3 - Article
VL - 49
SP - 1031
EP - 1041
JO - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
JF - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
ER -