Researchers from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center and Queen’s College suggest that developing strong adaptive skills in early childhood may act as a buffer against the negative effects of prenatal stress on children’s developing brains.
Adaptive skills refer to everyday abilities that help children function independently and interact effectively with others, such as communication, social skills, and the ability to manage daily tasks such as self-care.
This research developmental neurosciencestudied children whose mothers were pregnant during Superstorm Sandy, a powerful and devastating Category 3 hurricane that hit New York City and surrounding areas as a post-tropical storm in October 2012. Researchers used this storm as a natural model of prenatal stress exposure to investigate how the development of adaptive skills over early childhood helps maintain neural reactivity in exposed children.
Behavioral skills and brain development
As part of the Stress in Pregnancy (SIP) study, mothers and their children completed annual behavioral surveys from ages 2 to 6. These assessments measured the child’s adaptive behaviors, self-care, communication, social interactions, and other daily developmental skills that help the child function independently.
During late childhood, around age 8, a subgroup of 34 children also participated in a pilot brain imaging study at the State University of New York Graduate Center Advanced Science Research Center (CUNY ASRC). Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to measure children’s brain activation while completing a task that required them to see and choose matching emotional facial expressions.
Brain scans reveal that early adaptive skills influence how prenatal stress later affects brain activation in the emotional processing region of the limbic system, which is involved in emotional regulation, sensory processing, and memory formation.
“The brain scans showed something surprising,” said Donato Deingenis, MA. candidate in the Psychology program at New York University Graduate Center.
Children exposed to prenatal stress but who developed stronger adaptive skills early in infancy showed brain activation patterns comparable to children who were not exposed. This suggests that what happens early in development really matters for how the brain responds later in life. ”
Donato DeIngeniis, State University of New York Graduate Center
Children with poor adaptive skills during early childhood were shown to have significantly reduced limbic system activation when exposed to prenatal stress. However, children with stronger adaptive skills showed similar brain activation patterns as children not exposed to prenatal stress, suggesting that these everyday skills may help protect brain function.
“This study grew out of my master’s thesis, but what attracted me to this question was the idea that children do not passively accept early adversity,” said Queen’s University researcher Monica Baldiga, MA. “Skills developed in everyday life can shape brain development. It was very meaningful to see that reflected in the imaging data.”
Implications for interventions
Although repeated studies with larger samples are needed, the findings suggest that learning adaptive skills in early childhood may act as a safeguard against the negative effects of stress exposure during pregnancy.
“As natural disasters intensify with climate change, more women will face greater stress during pregnancy,” said Yoko Nomura, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study and Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Queen’s College and the State University of New York Graduate Center. “These findings give us reason to focus early intervention efforts on building adaptive skills in young children that may protect not only behavioral development but also brain health.”
“From a neuroimaging perspective, these findings highlight the brain’s remarkable capacity for recovery,” said Duke Sherine, Ph.D., director of the neuroimaging core at the State University of New York ASRC. “Even after significant prenatal stress exposure, children who built strong adaptive skills maintained healthy patterns of limbic activation, the very circuitry that regulates emotions and stress responses.”
Translating these findings into practice will require research scientists, clinicians, and policy makers to work together to implement strategies that protect children’s brain health and mental health after prenatal adversity.
sauce:
New York State Graduate Center
Reference magazines:
Deingenius, D. others. (2026). Adaptive skills may moderate the association between prenatal stress exposure and limbic brain activation: A developmental fMRI study of superstorm sand exposure. developmental neuroscience. DOI: 10.1159/000551574. https://karger.com/dne/article/doi/10.1159/000551574/946461/Adaptive-Skills-May-Moderate-the-Association.
