Proof of Method: A Neurofeedback-Based Intervention for Postpartum Bonding Disorders (The „NeMuK“-Study)

Introduction:

Despite the challenges of motherhood, most mothers feel an immediate, strong bond with their newborn. This bond is expressed in care-giving behaviors and sensitivity to the needs of the infant. Neurobiologically, this bond is accompanied by an activation of the reward system in the brain. However, approximately 10% of all mothers' report difficulties in bonding with their child, which seems to be correlated with reduced reward-related neural responses. Furthermore increasingly, evidence suggests that an impaired mother-child bond has long-term negative effects for mental and physical health child development.

Neurofeedback is a new, still experimental, intervention technique in which participants gain direct feedback on their brain activity and learn to control areas of activation. Previous studies suggest that activation of specific regions can be up- or down-regulated through neurofeedback training in clinical conditions that correlate with hypo- or hyper-activated brain activity. Based on research on the psychobiological mechanisms of bonding, this ongoing study looks to investigate if bonding-relevant activation of the reward system can be increased and whether this improves maternal bonding and mother-child interaction behaviour.

Materials & Methods:

Mothers reporting postpartum maternal bonding difficulties will participate in repeated real-time fMRI neurofeedback sessions to increase the activation of the reward relevant brain-areas, between 4 – 6 months post-partum. Specifically they will be trained the up-regulation of the ventral striatum, in order to activate dopamine-mediated reward processes in response to pictures of their child or the anterior cingulate as a control region. A control group of mothers with intact bonding to their infant will be examined in parallel to allow a comparison of the development of the maternal bond over the first year. Change in the real mother-child interaction as measured through standardised coding of behavioural observations will be assessed as the primary outcome measure.

Results:

The results of the study will provide a first evaluation of a fMRI neurofeedback training intervention in the treatment of maternal bonding disorders.

Discussion & Conclusion:

The present study is of great relevance to and interest for the treatment of postpartum bonding disorders and their impact on infant development. Rather than constituting a new standalone intervention, Neurofeedback has the potential to add to the current portfolio of therapeutic interventions in the field of parental bonding.