Vocal timing in face-to-face interaction of clinically depressed and nondepressed mothers and their 4-month-old infants

The timing of switching pauses is critical to mother-infant synchrony. The relation between switching-pause duration and maternal depression was studied in 15 depressed and 20 nondepressed mother-infant dyads. Switching pauses of depressed mothers were longer, more variable, and less consistent with scalar timing.