Parental Intrusiveness at Age 8 is Positively Correlated with Hippocampal Volume at Age 13

• Madelynn Neyra, Neuroscience, University of Delaware

• Mary Dozier, Psychology, University of Delaware

Early adversity is known to significantly alter the development of the hippocampus. The hippocampus is primarily responsible for memory storage. In early adolescence, the hippocampus is also associated with action-oriented and reward systems. During late childhood and early adolescence, the hippocampus is particularly vulnerable to stress, lifestyle, and sleep patterns. Previous research suggests that early life adversity is associated with smaller hippocampal volume during early childhood and adulthood. However, few studies have been conducted on the association between parental intrusiveness during late childhood and hippocampal volume in early adolescence. Thus, this study explores the influence of parental intrusiveness at age 8 on hippocampal volume at age 13. This study uses 58 participants who were pulled from a larger, longitudinal study. Parental intrusiveness was assessed using the average scores across 2 coders from an observational measure known as the Party Planning Task at age 8. Hippocampal volume at age 13 was determined using MRI brain scans. Surprisingly, hippocampal volume at age 13 is significantly, positively associated with levels of parental intrusiveness at age 8 (R2=0.443, p=0.044). This finding challenges current views that parental intrusiveness leads to reduction of hippocampal volume, but still suggests that intrusive parenting may influence the growth and development of the hippocampus.