The role of fathers' sleep quality and white matter microstructure on the adjustment to parenthood

项目摘要/摘要 为人父母的过渡是一个深刻变革的时期，在新的 父母。尽管大多数关于这种转变的研究都集中在母亲身上，但初为人父的人也必须适应 为为人父母干杯。许多父母经历了睡眠不足和睡眠质量差，这可能会增加智力 新父母的健康风险和降低照看行为的质量。以前在非亲本样本中的工作 这表明，睡眠质量可能与大脑的结构连通性有关，就像在白色大脑中测量的那样 物质微结构(WMM)。WMM连接效率较低也与心理健康有关 有问题。该项目将检查第一次做父亲的产后睡眠质量，并测试产后睡眠质量与产后睡眠质量的关系。 产后心理健康和WMM。该项目还考察了产后WMM作为产后 睡眠质量和为人父母过渡期间的心理健康症状。这个项目取材于一个 现有的对第一次父母从产前到产后的纵向研究 整合了神经成像技术。 研究的目的是：(1)检查产后睡眠质量，控制产前睡眠质量， 影响初为人父的心理适应；(2)调查睡眠质量是否 首次做父亲与产后脑白质微结构(WMM)相关；(3)检查 产后工作记忆在产后睡眠质量与父亲关系中的中介作用 适应为人父母的角色。研究发现可以深入了解睡眠对父亲大脑和大脑的作用 心理健康和促进为人父母的适应的信息干预。拟议的项目将 支持申请者在生物行为研究方法方面的培训，使其成为一门跨学科的健康和 家庭研究研究员。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The transition to parenthood is a period of profound transformation and often vulnerability in new parents. Though most of the research on this transition has focused on mothers, new fathers must also adapt to parenthood. Many parents experience sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality, which may increase mental health risks of new parents and reduce the quality of caregiving behavior. Prior work in non-parent samples suggests that sleep quality may be linked to the structural connectivity of the brain, as measured within white matter microstructure (WMM). Less efficient connectivity of WMM has also been associated with mental health problems. This project will examine postpartum sleep quality in first-time fathers and test associations with their postpartum mental health and WMM. The project also examines postpartum WMM as a mediator between sleep quality and mental health symptoms during the transition to parenthood. This project draws from an existing longitudinal study of first-time parents followed from the prenatal to postpartum periods that incorporated neuroimaging. Study aims are to: (1) Examine how postpartum sleep quality, controlling for prenatal sleep quality, affects psychological adjustment to parenthood in new fathers; (2) Investigate whether sleep quality is associated with postpartum white matter microstructure (WMM) among first-time fathers; (3) Examine the mediating role of postpartum WMM on the relationship between postpartum sleep quality and fathers’ adjustment to parenthood. Study findings can provide insight into the role of sleep on the paternal brain and mental health and inform interventions facilitating the adjustment to parenthood. The proposed project will support the applicant’s training in biobehavioral research methods to become an interdisciplinary health and family studies researcher.