Frontal-subcortical circuitry in social attachment and relationships: A cross-sectional fMRI ALE meta-analysis

Abstract

Researchers have explored the concept of attachment in multiple ways, from animal studies examining imprinting to abnormal attachment in psychopathology. However, until recently, few have considered how neural circuitry develops the effective social bonds that are subsequently replicated in relationships across the lifespan. This current cross-sectional study undertook a fMRI Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analyses to examine the neurocircuitry that governs emotional and behavioural functions critical for building effective social relationships in children and adults. Results suggest that dissociable dorsal cognitive (cool) and ventral affective (hot) frontal-subcortical circuits (FSC) work together to govern social relationships, with repeated social consequences leading to potentially adaptive - or maladaptive - relationships that can become routinized in the cerebellum. Implications for forming stable, functional, social bonds are considered, followed by recommendations for those who struggle with cool and hot FSC functioning that can hinder the development of adaptive prosocial relationships.

Publication
Lee, S. H., Walker, Z. M., Hale, J. B., & Chen, S. H. A. (2017). Frontal-subcortical circuitry in social attachment and relationships: A cross-sectional fMRI ALE meta-analysis. Behavioural Brain Research, 325, 117-130. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2017.02.032
Annabel Chen
Annabel Chen
Professor of Psychology
Lab Director

Dr. SH Annabel Chen is a clinical neuropsychologist, and currently a Faculty member of Psychology at the School of Social Sciences.