Functional connectivity signatures of trauma-specific reflective functioning: The interplay between childhood trauma and maternal competence.

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment yields enduring neurobiological consequences that impact later parenting, with trauma-specific reflective functioning (RF-T) serving as a critical resilience mechanism.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the psychological and electrophysiological interplay between childhood trauma, RF-T, and parenting sense of competence (PSOC).

METHODS

Sixty-six mothers with a history of childhood maltreatment underwent EEG recording while viewing Indonesian children's facial expressions (happy, fearful, and angry). RF-T was assessed using the Failure to Mentalize Trauma Questionnaire (FMTQ), in which higher scores indicate greater failure in trauma-related mentalization. Participants were categorized into relatively higher and lower RF-T groups using percentile-based classification of FMTQ scores derived from the sample distribution. Pairwise functional connectivity between neuroanatomically defined Region of Interest (ROI) channel pairs was quantified using spectral Coherence and the Weighted Phase Lag Index (wPLI) in the alpha (8-13 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) bands.

RESULTS

Mediation analysis revealed that RF-T fully mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and PSOC. Electrophysiologically, individuals with higher FMTQ scores (reflecting lower RF-T) exhibited increased alpha-band spectral coherence and wPLI synchronization in long-range posterior-frontal electrode pairs, with a representative effect observed for alpha-band wPLI synchronization at the CPz-FT8 pair (F(1, 32)=11.9, p = .002, ƞG2=0.176). In contrast, lower RF-T was associated with reduced beta-band wPLI synchronization in fronto-central and parietal electrode pairs, with a representative effect at the P9-CP4 pair (F(1, 32)=8.92, p = .005, ƞG2=0.138). These region-specific neural synchronization patterns were not significantly modulated by emotional expression, suggesting a trait-like baseline configuration rather than a state-dependent response.

CONCLUSION

These findings provide empirical evidence that RF-T is a neurophysiological process instantiated through coordinated oscillatory dynamics across targeted cortical regions. Impaired RF-T serves as a stable cortical profile of reflective disruption, highlighting its potential as a measurable biomarker for targeted interventions to break the intergenerational cycle of trauma.