Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/neuroscience-offers-answers-and-new-questions-on-attachment/5023946/
Neuroscientists have uncovered living proof that early interactions between the baby and her caregivers substantially shape the young child’s brain chemistry, and may even shape her developing brain structures and central nervous system. We have long known that the early attachment relationship influences the child psychologically, but now we are learning that the baby is impacted physiologically as well — in profound and lasting ways (Siegel, 2012). Thanks to the introduction of medical technology such as brain scans and heart monitoring, which allow us to measure what happens inside the brain and body, neuroscientists have begun to directly observe the influence of attachment relationships on the enduring physiology of the child. It is an exciting time in neuroscience research and one that offers fruitful insights for child care providers.
How the Attachment Relationship
Affects the Child’s Physiological Processes
The most robust neuroscience evidence we have relies on measures of heart rate (HR) and stress hormones (HPA), both of which are measurements that are possible to take on infants without harming them. Measures of HR and HPA, such as cortisol, can indicate the presence of stress reactions. A growing number of neuroscience studies of children in distress ...