Attachment as Prediction: Insights From Cognitive and Developmental Neuroscience

Abstract

Early caregiving experiences have strong, persistent links to emotion regulation. In this article we offer a view that the content represented in emotion-regulation neurobiology in part reflects consolidated interpersonal-affective memories abstracted from early caregiving experiences. We suggest that these interpersonal-affective memories, referred to here as “attachment schemas,” are represented by cortical-subcortical (re)activations. Neural circuitry involving functional connections between subcortical and midline cortical regions is well positioned to generate predictive inferences from attachment schemas that have implications for emotion regulation. Although speculative, this perspective is motivated by the convergence of empirical findings from cognitive and developmental neuroscience. Situating affective neural predictions within a neurodevelopmental framework has great potential to uncover mechanisms of attachment and ultimately build toward a more complete understanding of the links between early caregiving experiences and emotional well-being.