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the brain systems responsible for attachment to develop normally. These critical periods
appear to be in the first year of life, and are related to the capacity of the infant and
caregiver to develop a positive interactive relationship.” Dr. Bruce Perry
Myelination of the smart vagus occurs throughout the first year after birth,
thus the neurology that governs ones potential for bonding, communication
and relationship is determined by the quality of mother-infant interactions. The
growth of the baby’s brain literally requires interaction with the brain of a caregiver
the context of a positive relationship. When this need is thwarted dysfunction
expresses itself primarily in the sphere of relationships, and this sphere is anchored
in the function of the right-brain. Maturation of the adaptive right-brain’s
regulatory capacity is experience dependent, and this experience is embedded
in the attachment relationship between infant and primary caregiver. The early
right-brain capacities are not only central to the origin of the sense of self, they are
required for the ongoing development of the self over the lifespan.
The nervous system of newborns lack the ability to buffer sensory signals, thus
over-stimulation of any kind will be experienced as pain; and stress hormones
further increase the perception of pain. High stress from abuse and neglect is
toxic to the infant’s brain, and neglect maybe even more detrimental than abuse.
Because a brain grows in association with another brain, caregiver induced trauma
is more harmful than any other stressor. Relational trauma in infancy interferes
with the maturation of the brain’s coping systems, and has an enduring negative
impact on developmental processes.
Since limbic regulation between parent and child directs neurological
development, social contact is necessary for evolving behaviors to assemble into
a functioning animal. Without parental guidance, neurochemical disjunctions
accumulate and budding behaviors coagulate into a mess with scant resemblance
to a healthy coherent organism and functional self. Thomas Lewis in A General
Theory of Love, says that rhesus monkeys reared in isolation, having been deprived
of early limbic regulation, become irretrievably neurologically disorganized and
lose the ability to modulate aggression, which prevents social cohabitation. He
points out that attachment IS physiology!
The development of infant-attachment and healthy socio-emotional
functioning depends on the presence of consistent, responsive, attuned, and
nurturing caregivers whose central task is to keep the child “safe.” Because the
mammalian nervous system cannot self assemble an initial optimal relational
environment is needed for proper cognitive and emotional brain development. To
establish a coherent and cohesive neural structure the mammalian nervous system
requires interactive coordination through synchronization with Attractor Figures.
“Nature appears to have built our abstract and rational apparatus not just on top
of that of biological affect regulation but also from it and with it. Our rationality is
flavored inextricably with the patterns of our emotions. Thus rationality results from
the seamless combined efforts of the neocortex and the older brain core.” Alan Schore
The adaptive capacity to cope with change and stress is a right-brain function,
which is built up over time. The early postnatal period represents a crucial period