Neurobiology of Attachment

Question 1

Attachment Theory

Answer 1

Formulated by John Bowlby in 1969

Definition:
Innate biological system to ensure protection and reproduction

Question 2

Individual differences in attachment “security” are…

Answer 2

associated with maternal care and infant social/emotional development

Question 3

Dopamine (DA)

Answer 3

Neurotransmitter in the ventral striatum
Motivation and reward
Released during mother-pup interactions
Pharmacological blocking of DA disrupts maternal
behavior
DA knockout mice show impaired maternal behavior

Question 4

Oxytocin (OT)

Answer 4

Neuropeptide from the hypothalamus
Social behavior and bond formation
Critical for initiation of maternal behavior
Released during mother-pup interactions
Pharmacological blocking of OT impairs maternal behavior
Interacts with the mother’s DA system

Question 5

Visit 1

Pregnancy

Answer 5

Mother’s attachment
Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
Semi-structured interview probing lifetime attachment experiences
Direct probes into potential traumas and losses
Attachment security vs. insecurity
Unresolved trauma vs. no unresolved trauma

Question 6

Visit 2

Videotaping

Answer 6

7 months
Maternal Hormones
Maternal Behavior

Infant Face Images
Own and unknown infant faces matched on age, race, affect intensity (and sex if distinguishable)

Question 7

Visit 3

Scanning

Answer 7

Maternal Brain

fMRI Scanning

Question 8

Visit 4

Follow-up

Answer 8

Infant Attachment
Strange Situation Procedure
Videotaped procedure involving  mother, infant, and a “stranger”
Successive episodes of mother-
infant separation and reunion

Question 9

Healthy Mothers

Answer 9

Normal controls

Baby faces are like a natural “high”

Question 10

Mothers with secure attachment

Answer 10

Increased dopamine reward responses in the brain on seeing their infant’s face
Increased oxytocin response on interacting with their infant
More attuned vocal communication with their infant
More likely to have children with “secure” attachment

Question 11

Attachment Trauma

Answer 11

Everyday, more than 5 children in U.S. die from child abuse

A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds

80% that die from abuse are under the age of 4

80% that die from abuse are killed at the hands of their parent

Biological mothers are most frequent perpetrators of child maltreatment

1/3 of abused and neglected children later abused their own children, continuing the cycle of abuse

Abused mothers as high as 17-fold increase in risk for child abuse

Question 12

Unresolved trauma

Answer 12

Broader in scope than the diagnostic
construct of PTSD

Based less on whether or not trauma occurred, but more on how past trauma has been dealt with

Captures responses to past trauma that:

Have not been integrated into one’s autobiographic memory base

Exert an ongoing influence on the present socioemotional experiences

Question 13

Intergenerational transmission of attachment in unresolved trauma

Answer 13

More likely to be insecure

Question 14

Mothers with unresolved trauma

Answer 14

Reduced amygdala response in the brain on seeing their infant’s distress
Growing evidence suggests lower oxytocin levels
Disrupted behavioral attunement during moments of infant distress
More likely to have children with “insecure” attachment

Question 15

Addiction

Answer 15

24. 6 million (9.4%) illicit substance users
25. 1 million (22.9%) binge alcohol users
26. 6 million (8.2%) with DSM-IV-TR Substance Use Disorder

90% of substance using women are of reproductive age

Annually, 212,000 pregnancies involve illicit drugs, 370,000 involve alcohol, and 606,000 involve tobacco

Increases the odds of child neglect 4 times

Explains up to 80% of child maltreatment and 60% of infant out-of-home placements

Question 16

Mothers with addiction

Answer 16

Reduced dopamine reward responses in the brain on seeing their infant’s happy face