Is that Baby Happy? Looking at the Brainwaves of Potential Parents on Biologically Relevant Stimuli.

Authors' Affiliations

Tiffany A. Bonnagio, Departments of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

Location

D.P. Culp Center Ballroom

Start Date

4-5-2024 9:00 AM

End Date

4-5-2024 11:30 AM

Poster Number

167

Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor

Eric W. Sellers

Faculty Sponsor's Department

Psychology

Classification of First Author

Undergraduate Student

Competition Type

Competitive

Type

Poster Presentation

Presentation Category

Social Sciences

Abstract or Artist's Statement

Reproduction responsibility is not split equally between the sexes. The female carries most of the burden of reproduction and typically remains invested in her offspring throughout her life. Using electroencephalography (EEG), research has shown that mothers are better at perceiving and evaluating infant faces than fathers, parents are better than non-parents, and differences between non-parents have been inconclusive. Parental EEG research has specifically looked at event related potentials (ERPs) related to facial processing (N170) and attention allocation (P300). To our knowledge no research has looked at if desire for children and perceived parental self-efficacy influences perception and evaluation of infant faces. Therefore, the current study examined if those assigned female at birth (AFAB), due to their role in reproduction and potential neurobiological adaptations, exhibit differences in ERP responses when perceiving emotional infant faces compared to those assigned male at birth (AMAB). Participants were recruited through SONA to complete a reworded Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy (PMP S-Er) and Parental Care and Tenderness (PCAT) questionnaire on REDCap. Participants then completed a canonical oddball task with three categories, consisting of neutral, positive, and negative infant facial stimuli while connected to EEG. These blocks consisted of 130 trials consisting of 34 neutral, 48 positive, and 48 negative images of infant faces, presented at random, with one category defined as the target during each block. Participants were prompted to answer ‘yes’ in response to target stimuli and ‘no’ to non-target stimuli. Behavioral data (reaction time and accuracy) and ERP data were collected and analyzed. Preliminary results showed differences in reaction time and accuracy based on type of emotional facial stimuli; however, no differences in sex were observed. ERP data also showed no sex difference in N170 amplitude and latency or P300 amplitude and latency; however, differences were observed for emotional conditions and activity compared across the right and left hemisphere. This research contributes to the scientific understanding of potential parents and their evaluation and perception of infant faces.

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Apr 5th, 9:00 AM Apr 5th, 11:30 AM

Is that Baby Happy? Looking at the Brainwaves of Potential Parents on Biologically Relevant Stimuli.

D.P. Culp Center Ballroom

Reproduction responsibility is not split equally between the sexes. The female carries most of the burden of reproduction and typically remains invested in her offspring throughout her life. Using electroencephalography (EEG), research has shown that mothers are better at perceiving and evaluating infant faces than fathers, parents are better than non-parents, and differences between non-parents have been inconclusive. Parental EEG research has specifically looked at event related potentials (ERPs) related to facial processing (N170) and attention allocation (P300). To our knowledge no research has looked at if desire for children and perceived parental self-efficacy influences perception and evaluation of infant faces. Therefore, the current study examined if those assigned female at birth (AFAB), due to their role in reproduction and potential neurobiological adaptations, exhibit differences in ERP responses when perceiving emotional infant faces compared to those assigned male at birth (AMAB). Participants were recruited through SONA to complete a reworded Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy (PMP S-Er) and Parental Care and Tenderness (PCAT) questionnaire on REDCap. Participants then completed a canonical oddball task with three categories, consisting of neutral, positive, and negative infant facial stimuli while connected to EEG. These blocks consisted of 130 trials consisting of 34 neutral, 48 positive, and 48 negative images of infant faces, presented at random, with one category defined as the target during each block. Participants were prompted to answer ‘yes’ in response to target stimuli and ‘no’ to non-target stimuli. Behavioral data (reaction time and accuracy) and ERP data were collected and analyzed. Preliminary results showed differences in reaction time and accuracy based on type of emotional facial stimuli; however, no differences in sex were observed. ERP data also showed no sex difference in N170 amplitude and latency or P300 amplitude and latency; however, differences were observed for emotional conditions and activity compared across the right and left hemisphere. This research contributes to the scientific understanding of potential parents and their evaluation and perception of infant faces.