Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Research Unit of Psychology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2021 Mar;6(3):360-369. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.10.013. Epub 2020 Nov 1.
Secure attachment is important in maintaining an individual's health and well-being. Attachment disturbances increase the risk for developing psychiatric disorders such as affective disorders. Yet, the neurobiological correlates of human attachment are poorly understood at the neurotransmitter level. We investigated whether adult attachment style is linked to functioning of the opioid and serotonergic systems in the human brain.
We used positron emission tomography with radioligands [C]carfentanil and [C]MADAM to quantify mu opioid receptor (n = 39) and serotonin transporter (n = 37) availability in volunteers with no current psychiatric disorders. Attachment style was determined according to the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation with the structured Adult Attachment Interview.
Secure attachment was associated with higher mu opioid receptor availability in the hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex when compared with insecure (i.e., avoidant or ambivalent groups combined) attachment. In contrast, attachment style was not associated with serotonin transporter availability.
Our results provide preliminary in vivo evidence that the opioid system may be involved in the neurocircuits associated with individual differences in adult attachment behavior. The results suggest that variation in mu opioid receptor availability may be linked with the individuals' social relationships and psychosocial well-being and thus contributes to risk for psychiatric morbidity.
安全依恋对维持个体的健康和幸福至关重要。依恋障碍会增加患精神障碍的风险，如情感障碍。然而，人类依恋的神经生物学相关性在神经递质水平上还知之甚少。我们研究了成人依恋风格是否与人类大脑中阿片类和 5-羟色胺能系统的功能有关。
我们使用正电子发射断层扫描（PET）结合放射性配体 [C]carfentanil 和 [C]MADAM 来定量志愿者（无当前精神障碍）中μ阿片受体（n=39）和 5-羟色胺转运体（n=37）的可用性。根据动态-成熟依恋和适应模型以及结构成人依恋访谈来确定依恋风格。
与不安全依恋（即回避或矛盾群体合并）相比，安全依恋与海马体、杏仁核、丘脑和前额叶皮质中更高的μ阿片受体可用性相关。相比之下，依恋风格与 5-羟色胺转运体的可用性无关。
我们的结果提供了初步的体内证据，表明阿片系统可能参与了与成人依恋行为个体差异相关的神经回路。研究结果表明，μ阿片受体可用性的变化可能与个体的社会关系和心理社会幸福感有关，从而增加患精神疾病的风险。
