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Parenting and Addictions: Current Insights From Human Neuroscience

  • Parenting & Addiction (S Kim, H Rutherford and L Strathearn, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Addiction Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

A growing body of human research has documented associations between the maternal brain and maternal substance use and addictions. This neuroscience-informed approach affords the opportunity to unpack potential neurobiological mechanisms that may underscore challenges in maternal caregiving behavior among mothers with addictions and provide new directions for parenting interventions.

Recent Findings

Consistent with theoretical models of parenting and addictions, five studies evidence both hypo- and hyper-reactivity to infant affective cues across neuroimaging methods and tasks that incorporate both infant face and cry stimuli. Three structural and resting-state brain studies as a function of maternal substance use are also reported.

Summary

While human neuroimaging research converges in showing that maternal substance use is associated with differential reactivity to infant affective cues, further multi-level/multi-modal, longitudinal, and dimensional research is critically needed to advance this area of investigation.

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Notes

  1. We refer to substance use as incorporating both illicit and legal drugs (i.e., alcohol and tobacco). Studies reviewed do not include assessments of caffeine.

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health R01 DA050636, R01 DA026437, K01 DA039299, and KL2 TR001454. The views presented in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agencies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Helena J. V. Rutherford, Sarah W. Yip, Marc N. Potenza & Linda C. Mayes

  2. Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA

    Sohye Kim

  3. Departments of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA

    Sohye Kim

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Sarah W. Yip & Marc N. Potenza

  5. Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Marc N. Potenza

  6. The Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, 06109, USA

    Marc N. Potenza

  7. The Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA

    Marc N. Potenza

  8. Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Lane Strathearn

  9. Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Lane Strathearn

Authors
  1. Helena J. V. Rutherford
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  2. Sohye Kim
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  3. Sarah W. Yip
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  4. Marc N. Potenza
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  5. Linda C. Mayes
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  6. Lane Strathearn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helena J. V. Rutherford.

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Rutherford, H.J.V., Kim, S., Yip, S.W. et al. Parenting and Addictions: Current Insights From Human Neuroscience. Curr Addict Rep 8, 380–388 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-021-00384-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-021-00384-6

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