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Neural Correlates of Traumatic Childbirth Recall and Associations with Maternal Bonding Behaviors in Women with Childbirth-Related PTSD Symptoms
Zohar Beman
Postdoctoral Fellow, Psychiatry

One third of women experience their delivery as psychologically traumatic, and some proceed to develop childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD). In addition to maternal suffering put forth by the debilitating symptoms of PTSD, CB-PTSD is characterized with impaired mother-infant bonding. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying this impairment remain unknown. In this ongoing study, we have been investigating the neural responses to trauma memory recall, a central process in the development and maintenance of PTSD, in women who experienced traumatic childbirth, and the associations with CB-PTSD severity and maternal bonding behaviors. I will present current findings and discuss their potential implications for the understanding of this overlooked condition, as well as for improving postpartum care.

The Impact of Beliefs on Treatment Efficacy
Mattie Toma
Graduate Student, Economics

There exists ample evidence documenting the role of a "placebo" (often a sugar pill) in improving objective outcomes in medical trials, including a smaller literature identifying beliefs as the channel through which this effect operates. My question of interest is whether a congruent effect exists in the social sciences. That is, do recipients of government interventions or research treatments experience better outcomes if they have more positive beliefs about the efficacy of the treatment they are receiving? To identify the role of beliefs in determining treatment efficacy, I am partnering with a non-profit organization, Wholesome Wave, to run a field experiment (in progress) in which I measure the impact of exogenous changes in beliefs. I will explore a similar question in a complementary online experiment. In the event that beliefs do indeed affect treatment efficacy, such a finding would allow researchers to better understand the generalizability of observed treatment effects and also provide a tool for policymakers looking for a cost-effective means of improving intervention outcomes.