Neural Responses to Faces of Attachment Figures and Unfamiliar Faces: Associations With Organized and Disorganized Attachment Representations

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

The neural response to faces of attachment figures compared with unfamiliar faces still remains elusive. In particular, the modulation of the neural response by the organized (secure, insecure) compared with disorganized attachment representation of the subject investigated is unknown. For the present study, 38 healthy participants (age range, 21-71 years) were recruited. Three attachment groups (secure, n = 14; insecure, n = 15; disorganized, n = 9) were assessed using the Adult Attachment Projective. The participants were shown pictures of the faces of attachment figures (romantic partner/parents) and unfamiliar faces in a blocked factorial design, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Showing pictures of attachment figures activated parts of a neural social judgment network, important for inferring others' affective and cognitive mental states (e.g., inferior parietal lobe/superior temporal gyrus) in securely attached healthy individuals. In contrast, disorganized attached individuals with the experience of unresolved attachment trauma in their biography showed deactivations in these areas.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)112-120
Number of pages9
JournalThe journal of nervous and mental disease
Volume207
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2019
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85060618627
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/150329468

Keywords

Keywords

  • Adult, Aged, Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging, Facial Recognition/physiology, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Net/diagnostic imaging, Object Attachment, Parents, Psychological Trauma/diagnostic imaging, Sexual Partners, Social Perception, Spouses, Young Adult