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Objective: With childbirth, genetic and epigenetic processes reorganize parental brain circuits to support adaptive parental thoughts and behaviors to facilitate attachment1. We will build on fMRI studies of parent brain activations in response to infant stimuli 3-5 (cry), and how such parental babyresponse brain activity correlates with a particular measure of the parent-infant dyadic relationship, parental sensitivity.

Methods: We are studying parental attachment in several ways in 18 mothers and 13 fathers at two time points in the first few months postpartum: performing functional magnetic resonance imaging of parent brains (Siemens 3T Trio scanner) while they attend to own and other baby-cries and pictures, assessing parent-infant interaction videos using the CIB system2.

Results: Mothers and fathers activate some brain regions consistently over the first four months postpartum. These include regions consistent with the literature that regulate anxiety and social cognition. Individual and group differences emerge according to behavioral measure of parental sensitivity in some of these circuits.

Conclusion: This is the first study to link differential parent brain activations in response to baby stimuli with concurrent measures of parenting based on interaction videos. Future studies of human parenting brain circuits may suggest risk for postpartum depression as well as resilience profiles for child and family health.