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Brain Sciences
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State of the Art in Human Attachment
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State of the Art in Human Attachment

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Cognitive, Social and Affective Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 December 2024 | Viewed by 23841

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Anna Buchheim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: attachment; neuroscience; psychotherapy research; prevention

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Attachment is a biological emotion regulation-based system guiding cognitive and emotional processes with respect to intimate and significant relationships. Research on the neurobiological basis of attachment started with animal studies focusing on emotional deprivation and its behavioral, molecular, and endocrine consequences. More recently, the neurobiological basis of attachment in humans has been investigated using an array of different neuroscientific approaches to study several attachment systems (caregiving, sexual, affiliative) as well as mentalization and attachment representations. Most studies focused on healthy populations.

This Special Issue of Brain Sciences aims to present a collection of studies detailing the most recent research in the field of neuroscience of human attachment, including 1) the achievement of an interdisciplinary synthesis of new perspectives and methodologies examining the neuroscience of human attachment in different age groups, including clinical and non-clinical groups; 2) the identification of risk and resilience factors in the intergenerational transmission of attachment in risk groups for a further understanding of biopsychosocial underpinnings; and 3) state of the art of neuroscientific approaches to improve the understanding of psychological disorders with a history of adverse attachment experiences and to inform or evaluate attachment-based interventions. 

Authors are invited to submit cutting-edge research and reviews that address a broad range of topics related to neuroscience of human attachment. The main focus of contributions should be geared towards the association between inter-individual differences in attachment (including trauma), as well as how they manifest on a biological (genetics, epigenetics, endocrinology, physiology, biobehavioral synchrony, etc.) and/or neural (brain anatomy, function, connectivity, etc.) level in clinical und non-clinical groups with potential implications for prevention and intervention strategies.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research and reviews. We are also encouraging short reviews or commentaries on the state-of-the-art of the field and its future directions.

Prof. Dr. Anna Buchheim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • human attachment
  • social neuroscience
  • neuroimaging
  • genetics
  • neuroendocrinology
  • neurophysiology
  • psychopathology
  • prevention
  • intervention
  • biobehavioral synchrony

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 4184 KiB  
Article
Reassessing the Neural Correlates of Social Exclusion: A Replication Study of the Cyberball Paradigm Using Arterial Spin Labeling
by Karin Labek and Roberto Viviani
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(11), 1158; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14111158 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 266
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The cyberball paradigm has been used in numerous neuroimaging studies to elicit activation in neural substrates of social exclusion, which have been interpreted in terms of activity associated with “social pain”. The objectives of the study were to assess not only the [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The cyberball paradigm has been used in numerous neuroimaging studies to elicit activation in neural substrates of social exclusion, which have been interpreted in terms of activity associated with “social pain”. The objectives of the study were to assess not only the replicability but also the specificity of the areas activated by this paradigm. Methods: Functional imaging with arterial spin labeling, an approach to image longer mental states. Results: We replicated findings of previous meta-analyses of this paradigm in the inferior frontal gyrus and ventral cingular cortex. However, these areas were also active in a watch condition (in which participants were not excluded), although less so. Conclusions: These findings relativize a simple and specific interpretation of these areas as the neural substrates of social exclusion and social pain, as in previous studies. In a broader experimental context, similar activations have been reported by neuroimaging studies when semantic disambiguation and evaluation of action goals are required, an interpretation that may also apply to the effects elicited by this paradigm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State of the Art in Human Attachment)
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18 pages, 753 KiB  
Article
A Family Systems Perspective on Attachment Security and Dependency to Mother and Father in Preschool: Differential and Reciprocal Effects on Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems
by Alexandra Iwanski, Lucie Lichtenstein, Fabienne Forster, Céline Stadelmann, Guy Bodenmann and Peter Zimmermann
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(1), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010035 - 23 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4189
Abstract
Attachment security and dependency play a decisive role for children’s mental health. From a family systems perspective, reciprocal effects of dyadic attachment to each parent within the same family on child symptomatology may well offer additional insights in developmental processes as parents and [...] Read more.
Attachment security and dependency play a decisive role for children’s mental health. From a family systems perspective, reciprocal effects of dyadic attachment to each parent within the same family on child symptomatology may well offer additional insights in developmental processes as parents and children influence each other consistently. This study examined the influence of child-mother as well as child–father attachment security and dependency on maternal, paternal, and observed ratings of children’s emotional and behavioral problems. A total of 124 families with preschool children participated in this study. Attachment security, dependency, and symptomatology of the children were independently observed during home visits. Furthermore, mothers and fathers rated child symptoms. Results revealed promotive effects of attachment security to both parents on observed child symptoms. Furthermore, we found a significant actor effect of child-mother attachment security, as well as a significant partner effect of child–father dependency on maternal ratings of child symptomatology. Attachment security to both parents is promotive for child mental health. The family systems perspective clarifies the meaning of child–father relationships for maternal perception of the own child. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State of the Art in Human Attachment)
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Review

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20 pages, 362 KiB  
Review
Attachment, Mentalizing and Trauma: Then (1992) and Now (2022)
by Peter Fonagy, Chloe Campbell and Patrick Luyten
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(3), 459; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13030459 - 8 Mar 2023
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 10741
Abstract
This article reviews the current status of research on the relationship between attachment and trauma in developmental psychopathology. Beginning with a review of the major issues and the state-of-the-art in relation to current thinking in the field of attachment about the impact of [...] Read more.
This article reviews the current status of research on the relationship between attachment and trauma in developmental psychopathology. Beginning with a review of the major issues and the state-of-the-art in relation to current thinking in the field of attachment about the impact of trauma and the inter-generational transmission of trauma, the review then considers recent neurobiological work on mentalizing and trauma and suggests areas of new development and implications for clinical practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State of the Art in Human Attachment)

Other

Jump to: Research, Review

43 pages, 1126 KiB  
Systematic Review
Attachment-Related Differences in Emotion Regulation in Adults: A Systematic Review on Attachment Representations
by Dirk W. Eilert and Anna Buchheim
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(6), 884; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13060884 - 31 May 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7140
Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of mental disorders connected with affective dysregulation and insecure attachment. Therefore, it is even more important to understand the interplay between an individual’s attachment representation and patterns of emotion regulation. To our [...] Read more.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of mental disorders connected with affective dysregulation and insecure attachment. Therefore, it is even more important to understand the interplay between an individual’s attachment representation and patterns of emotion regulation. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to examine this association. PsycInfo, PsyArticles, and PubMed were searched for studies that examined attachment-related differences in emotion regulation in adults. To examine the unconscious attachment representation, only studies using the Adult Attachment Interview or the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System were included. Thirty-seven peer-reviewed studies (with a total of 2006 subjects) matched the PICO criteria. Emotion regulation was measured via four objective approaches: autonomic nervous system, brain activity, biochemistry, or nonverbal behavior. Across all measurements, results reveal a significant correlation between attachment representation and emotion regulation. Secure attachment correlates consistently with balanced emotion regulation, whereas it is impaired in insecure and dysfunctional in unresolved attachment. Specifically, unresolved individuals display counterintuitive responses and fail to use attachment as a resource. Insecure-dismissing attachment is associated with an emotionally deactivating strategy, while on a physiological, biochemical, and nonverbal level, emotional stress is still present. There is still a lack of studies examining preoccupied individuals. In addition to interpreting the results, we also discuss the risk of bias, implications for psychotherapy and coaching, and an outlook for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State of the Art in Human Attachment)
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