Title: How Stress Impacts the Brains of Two Generations: New Parents and Infants

Abstract: The prenatal and postnatal periods are critical periods for both parents and infants. The brain development of infants during these periods is unparalleled in any other life stage. The brains of parents also undergo dynamic morphological and functional changes that support the transition to parenthood. Due to the high plasticity of the brains during these periods, both infants and parents are sensitive to environmental influences. Unfortunately, some of the parents and their infants are exposed to severe stress such as living in poverty. In this talk, I will present evidence of how stressful environments during the prenatal and postnatal periods may influence the well-being of both parents and infants from a neuroscience perspective. First, I will discuss how early positive parent-infant relationships play a critical role in supporting infant brain development, but stress can disrupt normative neural adaptation to parenthood. Second, I will present evidence for how stress experienced by parents during pregnancy can be transmitted to infants and influence parent-infant brain synchrony. Third, I will discuss ways to support the well-being of parent-child dyads, including the use of generative artificial intelligence.

Bio: Pilyoung Kim is a professor of psychology and the director of the Family and Child Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Denver. She earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Cornell University and received postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Mental Health. Her NIH-funded research program focuses on delineating the roles of prenatal poverty and stress in: (1) the neural regulation of parenting among new birthing parents, and (2) brain development among their newborns. She has been awarded the Victoria S. Levin Award for Early Career Success in the field by the Society for Research in Child Development.

https://liberalarts.du.edu/psychology/family-child-neuroscience

https://www.baic.center/