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Neurobiology of infant attachment: attachment despite adversity and parental programming of emotionality

Rosemarie E Perry1, Clancy Blair1, Regina M Sullivan2

  • 1Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA.

Current Opinion in Psychology
|September 28, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Parenting quality significantly impacts infant brain development for emotional regulation. Sensitive caregiving is crucial for programming brain structures, shaping lifelong emotional health.

Area of Science:

  • Neurobiology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Attachment Theory

Background:

  • Infant attachment and emotional development are complex processes.
  • Parenting quality plays a critical role in early life.
  • Brain structures involved in emotion regulation mature during infancy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review neurobiological findings on infant attachment.
  • To emphasize the role of parenting quality in emotional development.
  • To explore the association between caregiving and brain structure programming.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent scientific literature.
  • Analysis of findings on neurobiology and attachment.
  • Synthesis of research on sensitive caregiving and brain development.

Main Results:

  • Sensitive caregiving is vital for programming key brain structures (amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus).
  • Quality of infant care is deeply associated with the development of emotional expression and regulation.
  • Lack of sensitive caregiving hinders the development of essential emotion regulation mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • Parenting quality profoundly influences the neurobiology of infant attachment and emotional development.
  • A sensitive period likely exists for parental influence on emotional development.
  • Further research, including cross-species studies, is needed to define age limits for interventions.

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