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Brain activity and infant attachment history in young men during loss and reward processing
Karina Quevedo1, Theodore E A Waters2, Hannah Scott1
1University of Minnesota.
Insights
Early attachment quality influences brain function. Insecure attachment in infancy predicts altered neural responses to reward and loss in adulthood, impacting emotional regulation and processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Attachment Theory
Background:
- Early attachment experiences are crucial for development and adaptation.
- Neural mechanisms linking attachment quality to later functioning are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term neural correlates of early attachment insecurity and disorganization.
- To examine how early attachment predicts brain activation patterns in response to reward and loss in adulthood.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 171 low-income males from infancy to young adulthood.
- Attachment security and disorganization assessed at 18 months using the Strange Situation Procedure.
- Neural activation patterns measured at age 20 using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a reward-based task.
Main Results:
- Individuals with insecure attachment history showed hyperactivity in reward/emotion-related brain regions (basal ganglia, amygdala) and emotion regulation/self-referential processing areas (cortical midline structures).
- Disorganized attachment was associated with heightened emotional reactivity anticipating reward and increased cognitive control during negative outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Early attachment quality has lasting effects on brain function, particularly in reward processing and emotional regulation.
- Attachment insecurity and disorganization are linked to distinct patterns of neural activation in response to reward and loss, highlighting the enduring impact of early experiences.
Abstract:
There is now ample evidence that the quality of early attachment experiences shapes expectations for supportive and responsive care and ultimately serves to scaffold adaptation to the salient tasks of development. Nonetheless, few studies have identified neural mechanisms that might give rise to these associations. Using a moderately large sample of low-income male participants recruited during infancy (N = 171), we studied the predictive significance of attachment insecurity and disorganization at age 18 months (as measured in the Strange Situation Procedure) for patterns of neural activation to reward and loss at age 20 years (assessed during a reward-based task as part of a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan). Results indicated that individuals with a history of insecure attachment showed hyperactivity in (a) reward- and emotion-related (e.g., basal ganglia and amygdala) structures and (b) emotion regulation and self-referential processing (cortical midline structures) in response to positive and negative outcomes (and anticipation of those outcomes). Further, the neural activation of individuals with a history of disorganized attachment suggested that they had greater emotional reactivity in anticipation of reward and employed greater cognitive control when negative outcomes were encountered. Overall, results suggest that the quality of early attachments has lasting impacts on brain function and reward processing.