Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, P.O. Box 6128, Downtown Station, Montreal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada.
Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2022 Aug;22(4):833-848. doi: 10.3758/s13415-022-00987-0. Epub 2022 Feb 10.
Studies show robust links between disorganized attachment in infancy and socioemotional maladjustment in childhood. Little is known, however, about the links between disorganized attachment and brain development, and whether attachment-related differences in brain morphology translate into meaningful variations in child socioemotional functioning. This study examined the links between infants' disorganized attachment behaviors toward their mothers, whole-brain regional grey matter volume and thickness, and peer rejection in late childhood. Thirty-three children and their mothers took part in this study. The Strange Situation Procedure was used to assess mother-infant attachment when infants were 18 months old. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed when they were 10 years old to assess cortical thickness and grey matter volumes. Children and teachers reported on peer rejection 1 year later, as an indicator of socioemotional maladjustment. Results indicated that disorganized attachment was not associated with grey matter volumes. However, children who exhibited more disorganized attachment behaviors in infancy had significantly thicker cortices in bilateral middle and superior frontal gyri, and extending to the inferior frontal gyrus, as well as the orbitofrontal and insular cortices in the right hemisphere in late childhood. Moreover, children with thicker cortices in these regions experienced greater peer rejection, as rated by themselves and their teachers. Although preliminary, these results are the first to indicate that disorganized attachment may play a role in cortical thickness development and that changes in cortical thickness are associated with differences in child socioemotional functioning.
研究表明，婴儿期依恋关系紊乱与儿童期社会情绪适应不良之间存在着紧密的联系。然而，人们对于依恋关系紊乱与大脑发育之间的联系知之甚少，也不清楚与依恋相关的大脑形态差异是否会转化为儿童社会情绪功能的显著差异。本研究考察了婴儿对母亲的依恋关系紊乱行为与大脑整体区域灰质体积和厚度，以及幼儿后期同伴排斥之间的关系。本研究共有 33 名儿童及其母亲参与。当婴儿 18 个月大时，采用陌生情境程序评估母婴依恋关系。当他们 10 岁时，进行磁共振成像以评估皮质厚度和灰质体积。1 年后，儿童和教师报告了同伴排斥情况，作为社会情绪适应不良的指标。结果表明，依恋关系紊乱与灰质体积无关。然而，婴儿期表现出更多依恋关系紊乱行为的儿童，在右半球的双侧额中回和额上回，以及眶额回和岛叶皮质，都表现出更厚的皮质。此外，这些区域皮质较厚的儿童，无论是他们自己还是老师，都会受到更多的同伴排斥。尽管这只是初步结果，但这些结果首次表明，依恋关系紊乱可能在皮质厚度发育中发挥作用，而皮质厚度的变化与儿童社会情绪功能的差异有关。
