ABSTRACT

Physical separation from caregivers activates attachment-related behaviors. However, neural underpinnings of this biological mechanism in humans and their development are poorly understood. We examined via functional MRI brain responses to pictorial representations of separation as a function of attachment-security, attachment-avoidance, and attachment-anxiety measured using the Child-Attachment-Interview, in 30 typically developing children (9-11 years). Attachment-related stimuli elicited enhanced activation in the precuneus, temporoparietal junction area, and medial superior frontal gyrus (described as mentalization network). More negatively rated attachment stimuli yielded increased activity in the inferior frontal gyrus/anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/ACC. Furthermore, ACC responses to attachment-related as compared to control stimuli were positively correlated with attachment-security and negatively correlated with attachment-avoidance. Our findings suggest that processing of separation cues elicits increased mentalization-related processing in children and activation of the salience network with increased negative valence of stimuli. Avoidant vs. securely attached children differentially activate ACC-dependent processes of affective evaluation.

摘要

与照顾者的身体分离会激活与依恋相关的行为。然而，人们对这种生物学机制及其发育的神经基础知之甚少。我们通过功能性 MRI 大脑对分离的图片表示的反应检查了 30 名正常发育的儿童（9-11 岁），作为使用儿童依恋访谈测量的依恋安全、依恋回避和依恋焦虑的函数。依恋相关刺激引起楔前叶、颞顶交界区和内侧额上回（描述为心智化网络）的激活增强。更多负面评价的依恋刺激在额下回/前岛叶和背侧前扣带皮层/ACC 中产生增加的活动。此外，与控制刺激相比，ACC 对依恋相关的反应与依恋安全性呈正相关，与依恋回避呈负相关。我们的研究结果表明，分离线索的处理会引发儿童心理化相关处理的增加，以及显着性网络的激活以及刺激负效价的增加。回避型儿童与安全型依恋儿童不同地激活依赖于 ACC 的情感评估过程。