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Gustison ML, Phelps SM. Individual differences in social attachment: A multi-disciplinary perspective. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12792. [PMID: 35170839 PMCID: PMC8916993 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Social behavior varies across both individuals and species. Research to explain this variation falls under the purview of multiple disciplines, each with its own theoretical and empirical traditions. Integration of these disciplinary traditions is key to developing a holistic perspective. Here, we review research on the biology of social attachment, a phenomena in which individuals develop strong affective connections to one another. We provide a historical overview of research on social attachment from psychological, ethological and neurobiological perspectives. As a case study, we describe work on pair-bonding in prairie voles, a socially monogamous rodent. This specific topic takes advantage of many biological perspectives and techniques to explain social bonds. Lastly, we conclude with an overview of multi-dimensional conceptual frameworks that can be used to explain social phenomena, and we propose a new framework for research on individual variation in attachment behavior. These conceptual frameworks originate from philosophy, physics, ethology, cognitive science and neuroscience. The application and synthesis of such frameworks offers a rich opportunity to advance understanding of social behavior and its mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan L. Gustison
- Department of Integrative BiologyThe University of Texas at AustinAustinTexasUSA
| | - Steven M. Phelps
- Department of Integrative BiologyThe University of Texas at AustinAustinTexasUSA
- Institute for NeuroscienceThe University of Texas at AustinAustinTexasUSA
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2
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Brown A, Yoder J, Fushi K. Trauma and Maternal Caregivers as Risks for Executive Function Deficits Among Youth Who Have Sexually Harmed. SEXUAL ABUSE : A JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2022; 34:24-51. [PMID: 33535902 DOI: 10.1177/1079063220988289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Despite robust research linking trauma events to the commission of sexual harm by youth, the majority of victims do not become victimizers, imploring us to study potential interceding influences. Some research indicates that intermediary factors like attachment characteristics, trauma symptomatology, and executive functioning may be critical in understanding sexual harm committed by youth. This study explored relationships between trauma events, trauma symptoms, and attachment characteristics, and their relationship to executive functioning in a sample of 196 youth who committed sexual harm. Results revealed bivariate associations between trauma events, symptomatology, and maternal attachment characteristics. Structural equation modeling revealed numerous direct and indirect effects on the path to deficits in executive functioning, and that sexual abuse, above and beyond other forms of traumatic events, contributed to executive functioning deficits via trauma symptoms. The results are contextualized and implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Brown
- Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jamie Yoder
- Colorado State University, School of Social Work, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Herstell S, Betz LT, Penzel N, Chechelnizki R, Filihagh L, Antonucci L, Kambeitz J. Insecure attachment as a transdiagnostic risk factor for major psychiatric conditions: A meta-analysis in bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia spectrum disorder. J Psychiatr Res 2021; 144:190-201. [PMID: 34678669 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Insecure attachment has been suggested as a major risk factor for mental health problems as well as a key element for the development and trajectory of psychiatric disorders. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess whether insecure attachment constitutes a global transdiagnostic risk factor in bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We conducted a PRISMA-based systematic quantitative review to explore the prevalence of insecure attachment among patients of three representative psychiatric disorders - major depression, schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder - in comparison with healthy controls (HC) from a transdiagnostic point of view. Effect sizes on differences of anxious, avoidant and insecure prevalence were calculated based on 40 samples including a total of n = 2927 individuals. Overall, results indicated a large effect on prevalence of insecure attachment across all disorders compared to HC (k = 30, g = 0.88, I2 = 71.0%, p < 0.001). In a transdiagnostic comparison, the only difference was found in avoidant attachment, which was significantly lower (p = 0.04) compared to HC in the schizophrenia spectrum disorder subgroup (k = 10, g = 0.31, I2 = 76.60%, p < 0.0001) than the depression subgroup subgroup (k = 12, g = 0.83, I2 = 46.65%, p < 0.0001). The lack of further transdiagnostic differences between three distinct psychiatric disorders corroborates insecure attachment as a general vulnerability factor to psychopathology. Our findings warrant further investigations, which should explore the pathways from attachment insecurity towards psychopathology. Insecure attachment likely has implications on assessment, prediction and treatment of psychiatric patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Herstell
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Linda T Betz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Nora Penzel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Nußbaumstraße 7, 80336, Munich, Germany.
| | - Ruth Chechelnizki
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Laura Filihagh
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Linda Antonucci
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication - University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121, Bari BA, Italy; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs - University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121, Bari BA, Italy.
| | - Joseph Kambeitz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.
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Antonucci LA, Raio A, Pergola G, Gelao B, Papalino M, Rampino A, Andriola I, Blasi G, Bertolino A. Machine learning-based ability to classify psychosis and early stages of disease through parenting and attachment-related variables is associated with social cognition. BMC Psychol 2021; 9:47. [PMID: 33757595 PMCID: PMC7989088 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-021-00552-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Recent views posited that negative parenting and attachment insecurity can be considered as general environmental factors of vulnerability for psychosis, specifically for individuals diagnosed with psychosis (PSY). Furthermore, evidence highlighted a tight relationship between attachment style and social cognition abilities, a key PSY behavioral phenotype. The aim of this study is to generate a machine learning algorithm based on the perceived quality of parenting and attachment style-related features to discriminate between PSY and healthy controls (HC) and to investigate its ability to track PSY early stages and risk conditions, as well as its association with social cognition performance. Methods Perceived maternal and paternal parenting, as well as attachment anxiety and avoidance scores, were trained to separate 71 HC from 34 PSY (20 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia + 14 diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic manifestations) using support vector classification and repeated nested cross-validation. We then validated this model on independent datasets including individuals at the early stages of disease (ESD, i.e. first episode of psychosis or depression, or at-risk mental state for psychosis) and with familial high risk for PSY (FHR, i.e. having a first-degree relative suffering from psychosis). Then, we performed factorial analyses to test the group x classification rate interaction on emotion perception, social inference and managing of emotions abilities. Results The perceived parenting and attachment-based machine learning model discriminated PSY from HC with a Balanced Accuracy (BAC) of 72.2%. Slightly lower classification performance was measured in the ESD sample (HC-ESD BAC = 63.5%), while the model could not discriminate between FHR and HC (BAC = 44.2%). We observed a significant group x classification interaction in PSY and HC from the discovery sample on emotion perception and on the ability to manage emotions (both p = 0.02). The interaction on managing of emotion abilities was replicated in the ESD and HC validation sample (p = 0.03). Conclusion Our results suggest that parenting and attachment-related variables bear significant classification power when applied to both PSY and its early stages and are associated with variability in emotion processing. These variables could therefore be useful in psychosis early recognition programs aimed at softening the psychosis-associated disability. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-021-00552-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda A Antonucci
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Scipione Crisanzio 42, 70122, Bari, Italy. .,Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
| | - Alessandra Raio
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Giulio Pergola
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.,Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Barbara Gelao
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Marco Papalino
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Rampino
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Giuseppe Blasi
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Alessandro Bertolino
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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Choi EJ, Taylor MJ, Vandewouw MM, Hong SB, Kim CD, Yi SH. Attachment security and striatal functional connectivity in typically developing children. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 48:100914. [PMID: 33517105 PMCID: PMC7847968 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Attachment security is formed through interactions with a main caregiver during the first three years of life and reflects inter-individual differences in mental representations for the relationship. The striatum is known to be a key structure to initiate attachment behaviours and maintain attachment relationships as well as to modulate reward-related processing as part of the approach module in current neurobiological models of human attachment. Although findings have suggested critical roles of the striatum in inter-individual differences in attachment, most studies were based on a wide variety of tasks and very few have investigated these associations in intrinsic brain connectivity in typically developing children. In the present study, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the striatal functional connectivity according to children’s attachment security in 68 nine-year-olds (Secure attachment = 39, Insecure attachment = 29, mean age/SD = 9.62/0.69). Children with secure attachment demonstrated increased functional connectivity in the tempro-limbic region, compared to children with insecure attachment. In addition, the child-reported attachment security scores were negatively associated with the caudate-prefrontal connectivity, but positively with the putamen-visual area connectivity. These data demonstrate that inter-individual differences in attachment can be captured in striatal functional connectivity organization in the typical brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Jung Choi
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Neuroscience & Mental Health Program, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.
| | - Margot J Taylor
- Neuroscience & Mental Health Program, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Departments of Psychology and Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Marlee M Vandewouw
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Neuroscience & Mental Health Program, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Soon-Beom Hong
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang-Dai Kim
- Department of Education, College of Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Soon-Hyung Yi
- Department of Child and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
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Antonucci LA, Pergola G, Passiatore R, Taurisano P, Quarto T, Dispoto E, Rampino A, Bertolino A, Cassibba R, Blasi G. The interaction between OXTR rs2268493 and perceived maternal care is associated with amygdala-dorsolateral prefrontal effective connectivity during explicit emotion processing. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2020; 270:553-565. [PMID: 31471679 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-019-01062-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have indicated a link between socio-emotional processing and the oxytocin receptor. In this regard, a single nucleotide polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor coding gene (OXTR rs2268493) has been linked with lower social functioning, increased risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and with post-mortem OXTR mRNA expression levels. Indeed, the levels of expression of OXTR in brain regions involved in emotion processing are also associated with maternal care. Furthermore, maternal care has been associated with emotional correlates. Taken together, these previous findings suggest a possible combined effect of rs2268493 and maternal care on emotion-related brain phenotypes. A crucial biological mechanism subtending emotional processing is the amygdala-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) functional connection. On this basis, our aim was to investigate the interaction between rs2268493 and maternal care on amygdala-DLPFC effective connectivity during emotional evaluation. We characterized through dynamic causal modeling (DCM) patterns of amygdala-DLPFC effective connectivity during explicit emotion processing in healthy controls (HC), profiled based on maternal care and rs2268493 genotype. In the whole sample, right top-down DLPFC-to-amygdala pattern was the most likely directional model of effective connectivity. This pattern of connectivity was the most likely for all rs2268493/maternal care subgroups, except for thymine homozygous (TT)/low maternal care individuals. Here, a right bottom-up amygdala-to-DLPFC was the most likely directional model. These results suggest a gene by environment interaction mediated by the oxytocin receptor on biological phenotypes relevant to emotion processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda A Antonucci
- Section for Neurodiagnostic Applications, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, 80336, Munich, Germany.,Department of Educational Science, Psychology and Communication Science, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70121, Bari, Italy.,Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Giulio Pergola
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Roberta Passiatore
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Paolo Taurisano
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy.,IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, 71013, Foggia, Italy
| | - Tiziana Quarto
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Eleonora Dispoto
- Department of Educational Science, Psychology and Communication Science, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70121, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Rampino
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy.,Psychiatry Unit, Bari University Hospital, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Alessandro Bertolino
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy.,Psychiatry Unit, Bari University Hospital, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Rosalinda Cassibba
- Department of Educational Science, Psychology and Communication Science, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70121, Bari, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Blasi
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy. .,Psychiatry Unit, Bari University Hospital, 70124, Bari, Italy.
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Long M, Verbeke W, Ein-Dor T, Vrtička P. A functional neuro-anatomical model of human attachment (NAMA): Insights from first- and second-person social neuroscience. Cortex 2020; 126:281-321. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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