Neuroscience presentation
Transcript: Maternal Anxious Attachment Style is Associated with Reduced Mother-Child Brain-to-Brain Synchrony Azhari et al (2020) Amandeep Overview of study Overview of study Hypothesis Study aim The study aimed to test whether anxiously attached mothers are less able to attune to their child's emotional state during an everyday joint activity. Brain to brain synchrony between a mother and child varies as a function of maternal attachment styles. Two mentalisation processes are linked to this: 1. emotional mentalisation - processing other's emotions based on physical attributes such as facial expressions 2. cognitive mentalisation - consciously processing other's emotions based on internal attributes such as their own feelings - this is imaginative (Azhari et al, 2020) The study worked from two hypotheses: 1. Dyads with anxiously attached mothers exhibit reduced brain to brain synchrony as mothers face greater difficulty matching to their child's emotional state. 2. Reduced synchrony would be observed in the medial left cluster. Methods Participants: 34 child and mother pairings First, the mothers completed a attachment style questionnaire. Then, the mother and child's brain responses were investigated measured using tandem functional near-infrared spectroscopy while they were watching three cartoon videos Main outcomes The hypotheses for the study were met. Less synchrony was found in the frontal and medial left clusters of the prefrontal cortex Prefrontal cortex= predicting consequences of actions, managing emotional reactions, planning for the future and adjusting complex behaviours (GoodTherapy, 2019) There was less brain to brain synchrony in the prefrontal cortex for mothers who scored high on the anxious attachment scale Less brain synchrony Need for approval Need for approval - the parent may fear their child not liking them and not meeting their expectations Preoccupation for relationships - An adult may fear abandonment so would be apprehensive regarding relationships, however, may not fear her child deserting her Need for approval was associated with less brain to brain synchrony - but no effect for preoccupation for relationship Mothers who scored high on the need for approval on the adult attachment questionnaire displayed less brain synchrony Anxiously attached mothers Anxiously attached mothers engage in emotional mentalisation, where they rely on social cues, such as facial expressions to gather an understanding of other people's mental states The anxious attached mother may use her left prefrontal cortex to control and mentalise her behaviours so that she can match her child's behaviours, as the left prefrontal cortex deals with goal directed responses which again results in less brain to brain synchrony as the mother is focusing more on meeting goals and expectations within her child's care For example: changing nappies, feeding the child, helping them to speak Limitations The controlled test did not do enough justice as it did not help to investigate attunement with both mother and baby - they were not able to pick up each others cues - emotional mentalisation, because of the controlled test The child was facing away from the mother, so she could not pick up on their social cues The child's attachment style was not considered, as it would help to understand how they attune to their mother The therapist working with their client may have the need of approval so that they are acknowledged for doing positive work with the client. The need for approval for the therapist may be because of their anxious attachment. Here the therapist may have an uncertainty about their working relationship with their client (Huang, 2020). The therapist may have a sense of unworthiness, where they seek self-acceptance by gaining validation and approval from others (Huang, 2020). The therapist may also worry that their client may not like them and may quit working with them (Azhari et al, 2020). In the counselling room Reference list Reference list Azhari, A., Gabrieli, G., Bizzego, A., Bornstein, M, H. & Esposito, G. (2020). Maternal anxious attachment style is associated with reduced mother-child brain-to-brain synchrony. BioRxiv. Doi: 10.1101/2020.01.23.917641 GoodTherapy (2019) Prefrontal cortex. Retrieved: November 25, 2021, from: https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/prefrontal-cortex Huang, S. (2020). Secure attachment and other attachment styles. Retrieved: November 26, 2021, from: https://www.simplypsychology.org/attachment-styles.html
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