Maternal bonding in childhood moderates autonomic responses to distress stimuli in adult males

Arianna Dalsant; Anna Truzzi; Peipei Setoh; Gianluca Esposito

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.06.026

Maternal bonding in childhood moderates autonomic responses to distress stimuli in adult males

Behav Brain Res. 2015 Oct 1:292:428-31. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.06.026. Epub 2015 Jul 7.

Authors

Arianna Dalsant¹, Anna Truzzi¹, Peipei Setoh², Gianluca Esposito³

Affiliations

¹ Affiliative Behaviour and Physiology Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Trento, Italy.
² Early Cognition Lab, Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
³ Affiliative Behaviour and Physiology Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Trento, Italy; Early Cognition Lab, Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Electronic address: gianluca.esposito@unitn.it.

PMID: 26162754
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.06.026

Abstract

Mother-child bonding influences the development of cognitive and social skills. In this study we investigate how maternal attachment, developed in early childhood, modulates physiological responses to social stimuli later in life. Our results suggest that the autonomic nervous system's responses to vocal distress are moderated by the quality of participants' maternal bonding. In particular, participants with optimal maternal bonding showed a greater calming response to distressful stimuli whereas participants with non-optimal maternal bonding showed a heightened distress response.

Keywords: Attachment; Autonomic responses; Heart-rate variability; Maternal bonding; Nose temperature.

MeSH terms

Adult
Autonomic Nervous System*
Body Temperature
Heart Rate
Humans
Male
Mother-Child Relations*
Object Attachment*
Stress, Psychological / physiopathology*
Young Adult