From 2024, a new series of interdisciplinary and multi-method studies looking at bio-behavioural synchrony in families (i.e., mothers, children and fathers – hence TRIO) is being set up at the Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex (Colchester, UK) in collaboration with The Synapse Centre for Neurodevelopment as part of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).

Initially, the focus will be on mother-father bio-behavioural synchrony with a later addition of mother-child and father-child bio-behavioural synchrony measurement as well. While the first study will be carried out with healthy controls, subsequent studies will also include families with neurodivergent children and children with experiences of early adversity, care and/or adoption.

Please see below for more information on:
► Main Study Elements
► Specific Study Information
► Call for Participation
► Output: Talks & Presentations

►fNIRS hyperscanning in mother-child-father triads (child age 4-8 years) during several tasks. These will include a mother-child-father collaborative play session, a parent problem discussion session and a parent video viewing session. This will serve to derive measures of interpersonal neural synchrony as well as interpersonal neural coupling.

►ECG hyperscanning in mothers and fathers during the same tasks. This will serve to derive a measure of physiological synchrony based on heart rate.

►Blood pressure measurement during the parent problem discussion task to better understand the nature of physiological arousal.

►Video recordings during the mother-child-father collaborative play and the parent problem discussion sessions. This will serve to derive measures of interaction quality according to several attachment-theory derived coding schemes.

►Parental self-report questionnaires of attachment, caregiving, relationship quality etc.

►Associations between all the above elements.