Ed. note: Today I present Part Three of Lauren Lindsey Porter’s article, “The Science of Attachment: The Biological Roots of Love.” The article was first published in Mothering Magazine (Issue 119, July/August 2003) and appears on www.familyfieldguide.com with the author’s permission. References to footnotes will be provided with the final installment.

From late pregnancy through the second year of life, the human brain experiences a critical period of accelerated growth. This process consumes higher amounts of energy than any other stage in the lifespan, and requires not only sufficient nutrients but optimal interpersonal experiences for maximal maturation.12 During this period, the focus is on right-brain development. The right brain is deeply connected to both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which control vital functions that support survival and cope with stress, as well as the limbic system of the brain, which includes the hippocampus and amygdala.13 The limbic system is the neurological seat of emotions; the hippocampus and amygdala are closely tied to memory and the regulation of emotions, including aggression.14

The human cerebral cortex adds 70 percent of its final DNA content after birth.15 Consequently, the expanding brain is directly influenced by its environment, thus creating an interplay between biology and social environment.16 With the help of neuroscience and sophisticated use of technologies such as EEG, PET, and MRI, we are now able to see just how this interplay looks. What has emerged is mounting evidence that stress and trauma impair optimal brain development while healthy attachment promotes it.17, 18

Just what is stress to an infant? And what is healthy attachment? We now have answers to these questions as well. Babies, we know, cannot survive on their own. All basic needs must be met through a relationship with a caregiver. What this new research tells us, however, is that these needs go far beyond the simple ones of food and sleep, and are intimately tied to the emotional world. Leading the way in integrating the mass amounts of data and compiling them into new theories and explanations is Dr. Allan Schore, a psychologist at the UCLA School of Medicine. Schore takes us into the world of psychobiology, the intersection of the genetically encoded biological temperament, and the nature of the caregiving experience.

In psychobiological terms, babies are unable to regulate themselves. Despite being born with the capacity for feeling deep emotions, babies are unable to keep themselves in a state of equilibrium, lacking the skills to regulate either the intensity or the duration of those emotions.19 Without the assistance and monitoring of a caregiver, babies become overwhelmed by their emotional states, including those of fear, excitement, and sadness.20 In order to maintain emotional equilibrium, babies require a consistent and committed relationship with one caring person. As you might expect, the research indicates that the person best suited for this relationship is the mother.21

What is fascinating about the mother-baby dyad is that, like the biology-environment interplay, it is a synchronized system.22 The mother tunes to her baby’s internal states and responds, which produces a response in the mother, which further fuels the system. One is not independent of the other, and each has a profound effect on the next response. This dyad is the key to healthy development for the baby.23 As Bowlby believed, the mother must achieve attunement with her baby to create healthy attachment. Thus, healthy attachment is simply the development of that attuned relationship.

I’d love to know your thoughts on Ms. Porter’s article! FFG is now on Facebook. Go to www.facebook.com/familyfieldguide.