Exploring the neurobiology of attachment

Abstract

(create) The mother-infant relationship has been characterized as one of the most important relationships affecting the health and development of the human species (Schore, 2001). When that relationship involves abuse or neglect, it is associated with a diverse range of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in the offspring, including long-term cognitive and academic delays, psychiatric illness, social impairment, and delinquency. Yet when this relationship is characterized by secure attachment between infants and their primary caregivers, and in the absence of other mitigating factors, these infants go on to manifest higher levels of self-esteem and self-reliance and show more effective self-regulation of impulses and emotions from preschool through to adolescence. They are better able to form close relationships, and this evolves into an enhanced capacity for intimacy and self-disclosure in adulthood. In contrast, insecure disorganized patterns of attachment, most often seen in cases of maltreatment or emotional unavailability, are associated with a higher risk for anxiety disorders, aggression, conduct disorder, and other forms of psychopathology. So, what is it about this early relationship that can have such a profound influence on subsequent behaviour and development? The purposes of this chapter are: (1) to summarize the evidence from animal research linking maternal care and infant development, as well as how infant cues may enhance maternal behaviour; (2) to explore possible neuroendocrine correlates underlying the development of attachment behaviour; and (3) to discuss the role of functional neuroimaging in testing these hypotheses in human populations. The chapter concludes with a commentary section by Arietta Slade. Slade's comments begin by considering the experiential correlates of the patterns of brain activation which the chapter author (L. Strathearn) describes. What are the feelings that accompany particular patterns of brain activation? Slade then turns to methodology, and particularly the question of how to best measure attachment phenomena in Strathearn's proposed study. In particular, Slade suggests that assessing reflective functioning in addition to attachment classification will greatly broaden the measurement of attachment processes. This measure may in fact be better suited to assessing the experiential correlates of the neural activity Strathearn is measuring. Slade then extends the question of individual differences to consider some of the ways that neuroimaging techniques may be used to assess change in parenting interventions. Finally, Slade closes with a cautionary note about the interpretation and generalizability of neuroimaging studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)