Associations of accelerated cellular age and infant mental health
Principal Investigator
Emotion regulation and temperament of infants are early indicators of mental health and can predict their risk for developing psychiatric conditions. Emerging research in adults and children indicate poor mental health is associated with cellular and molecular biomarkers of accelerated aging, however there has been limited research examining the relationship between accelerated aging and mental health outcomes of infants. Furthermore, no previous work has taken into account the possible contributions of maternal biological and behavioral factors and the parent-child relationship. This pilot project proposes to examine the relationship between infant emotional reactivity and self-regulation with two key mechanisms of cellular aging: telomere attrition and mitochondrial dysfunction. This pilot project will analyze the behavioral data and biospecimens previously collected from 139 mother-infant dyads to examine the effect of telomere length, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and mitochondrial DNA deletion of the ND4 gene on the emotional reactivity and self-regulation of infants. Insights from this project may help to guide intervention and prevention strategies to promote improved health throughout the lifespan.
