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- Blomkvist, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Abusive caregivers are not a secure base for their infant : Understanding the neurobiology using a rodent model
- 2019
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In: 52nd Annual Meeting of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, October 16-18, 2019. ; , s. 51-51
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Early life experiences are essential for a healthy development according to both human and animal research. From the attachment literature the primary caregiver has always been the center of attention in predicating outcomes in later development of the child.The attachment literature also highlights two functions that the caregiver implicit activate, the safe haven and the secure base functions. Safe haven function is when the infant can depend on the caregiver for comfort and relief if stressed. The secure base function is described as when the caregiver works as a platform for the child to explore. This latter function has the intent to describe the infant’s balance between two behaviours; exploration and proximity seeking.In this study we are linking the described attachment behaviour system with a neurobiological approach of measuring cortical local field potential (LFP) oscillations in rat pups. By using an experimental setting with both measures of behaviour and LFP where the pup interacts with the mother and a stranger we evaluate the secure base function. In addition, we are applying the Scarcity-Adversity Model of maltreatment to disentangle critical attachment disruptions. We are discovering differences in the two different groups of rat pups (control and maltreatment) and are reflecting on these results both on an attachment behavioral and neurobiological developmental level.
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| 2. |
- Blomkvist, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Relationship satisfaction and the influence of attachment
- 2019
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Romantic relationships have been argued to function as attachment relationships, and the level of satisfaction with the relationship have been associated with one’s attachment style. Both attachment avoidance and anxiety have shown to be reliable predictors of relationship dissatisfaction. In this study, which were part of a screening process for couples’ therapy, 660 participants (330 both heterosexual and homosexual couples) completed a questionnaire regarding their attachment style (Experience of Close Relationships) and relationship satisfaction (Dyadic Adjustment Scale). Through structural equation modelling we found that relationship satisfaction was linked to both attachment avoidance (? = -.26) and anxiety (? = -.15) of one own, but only to partner avoidance (? = -.12). These findings are to some extent contradictory to previous research regarding the effect of partner attachment, by showing that specifically avoidance but not anxiety is linked to dissatisfaction.
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| 3. |
- Blomkvist, Anna
(author)
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Stress and odors
- 2018
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Compared to our other senses, the sense of smell has a unique and anatomically direct pathway to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal-axis which might have many important implicit and explicit functions in reducing stress. In a set of behavioral experiments, we pursued the hypothesis that the sense of smell could reduce psychophysiological measured stress, i.e. skin conductance levels (SCL), after a stress induction paradigm using weak electric shocks. In study one, we used the framework of attachment theory stating that an adult attachment figure should provide a relief and comfort if the individual is exposed to a stressful event. The results showed that such a relief and comfort can be achieved for the secure individuals by simply smelling their partner´s body odor. Presence of their partners body odor significantly reduced SCL compared to when smelling their own, a neutral or a positive odor. In study two, a multisensory paradigm with virtual reality was used to test whether odors uniquely reduce stress responses within three different environments; urban parks, forests and cities. Our findings showed that high psychological pleasantness was linked to low stress response for the olfactory and visual senses. Taken together these findings demonstrate that both social and environmental odors are able to provide stress release and further, provide a framework for understanding the underlying mechanisms of olfaction cues and stress.
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| 9. |
- Delmer, Cecilia, et al.
(author)
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Infant sensitivity to maternal neuromodulation of the HPA stress axis
- 2019
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Young rat pups and children show blunted stress and fear to threat if the caregiver is present (social buffering), although, the effect is reduced in maltreated children. We showed that maternal presence attenuated hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) during a threat, but it was not attenuated in abused rat pups. This suggests that the inability of abused pups to be socially buffered by the mother is due to maternal presence's failure to block HPA activation.
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| 10. |
- Granqvist, Pehr, et al.
(author)
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The scent of security : Odor of romantic partner alters subjective discomfort and autonomic stress responses in an adult attachment-dependent manner
- 2019
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In: Physiology and Behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-9384 .- 1873-507X. ; 198, s. 144-150
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- When in a stressful situation, access to adult attachment figures (e.g., romantic partners) is an important means by which adults regulate stress responses. The practice of smelling a partner's worn garment is reported as a self-treatment against stress. Here, we experimentally determined whether exposure to a partner's body odor attenuates adults' subjective discomfort and psychophysiological responses, and whether such effects are qualified by adult attachment security. In a blocked design, participants (N = 34) were presented with their partner's body odor, their own body odor, the odor of a clean t-shirt and rose odor, while exposed to weak electric shocks to induce discomfort and stress responses. Results showed that partner body odor reduces subjective discomfort during a stressful event, as compared with the odor of oneself. Also, highly secure participants had attenuated skin conductance when exposed to partner odor. We conclude that partner odor is a scent of security, especially for attachment-secure adults.
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| 11. |
- Lindholm, Torun, et al.
(author)
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Men’s and Women’s Self-Presentational Tactics Lead to Gender Biases in Manager Selection
- 2019
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We examined how men’s and women’s self-presentational choices influenced perceived suitability for a senior position. We confronted applicants to job interview questions preferred by men or women. Regardless of their gender, applicants received better evaluations when they received questions initially selected by men than questions initially selected by women.
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| 12. |
- Opendak, Maya, et al.
(author)
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Neurobiology of maternal regulation of infant fear : the role of mesolimbic dopamine and its disruption by maltreatment
- 2019
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In: Neuropsychopharmacology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0893-133X .- 1740-634X. ; 44:7, s. 1247-1257
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Child development research highlights caregiver regulation of infant physiology and behavior as a key feature of early life attachment, although mechanisms for maternal control of infant neural circuits remain elusive. Here we explored the neurobiology of maternal regulation of infant fear using neural network and molecular levels of analysis in a rodent model. Previous research has shown maternal suppression of amygdala-dependent fear learning during a sensitive period. Here we characterize changes in neural networks engaged during maternal regulation and the transition to infant self-regulation. Metabolic mapping of 2deoxyglucose uptake during odor-shock conditioning in postnatal day (PN) 14 rat pups showed that maternal presence blocked fear learning, disengaged mesolimbic circuitry, basolateral amygdala (BLA), and plasticity-related AMPA receptor subunit trafficking. At PN18, when maternal presence only socially buffers threat learning (similar to social modulation in adults), maternal presence failed to disengage the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, and failed to disengage both the BLA and plasticity-related AMPA receptor subunit trafficking. Further, maternal presence failed to block threat learning at PN14 pups following abuse, and mesolimbic dopamine engagement and AMPA were not significantly altered by maternal presence-analogous to compromised maternal regulation of children in abusive relationships. Our results highlight three key features of maternal regulation: (1) maternal presence blocks fear learning and amygdala plasticity through age-dependent suppression of amygdala AMPA receptor subunit trafficking, (2) maternal presence suppresses engagement of brain regions within the mesolimbic dopamine circuit, and (3) early-life abuse compromises network and molecular biomarkers of maternal regulation, suggesting reduced social scaffolding of the brain.
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| 13. |
- Robinson-Drummer, Patrese A., et al.
(author)
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Infant Trauma Alters Social Buffering of Threat Learning : Emerging Role of Prefrontal Cortex in Preadolescence
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1662-5153. ; 13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Within the infant-caregiver attachment system, the primary caregiver holds potent reward value to the infant, exhibited by infants' strong preference for approach responses and proximity-seeking towards the mother. A less well-understood feature of the attachment figure is the caregiver's ability to reduce fear via social buffering, commonly associated with the notion of a safe haven in the developmental literature. Evidence suggests this infant system overlaps with the neural network supporting social buffering (attenuation) of fear in the adults of many species, a network known to involve the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Here, using odor-shock conditioning in young developing rats, we assessed when the infant system transitions to the adult-like PFC-dependent social buffering of threat system. Rat pups were odor-shock conditioned (0.55 mA-0.6 mA) at either postnatal day (PN18; dependent on mother) or 28 (newly independent, weaned at PN23). Within each age group, the mother was present or absent during conditioning, with PFC assessment following acquisition using(14)C 2-DG autoradiography and cue testing the following day. Since the human literature suggests poor attachment attenuates the mother's ability to socially buffer the infants, half of the pups at each age were reared with an abusive mother from PN8-12. The results showed that for typical control rearing, the mother attenuated fear in both PN18 and PN28 pups, although the PFC [infralimbic (IL) and ventral prelimbic (vPL) cortices] was only engaged at PN28. Abuse rearing completely disrupted social buffering of pups by the mother at PN18. The results from PN28 pups showed that while the mother modulated learning in both control and abuse-reared pups, the behavioral and PFC effects were attenuated after maltreatment. Our data suggest that pups transition to the adult-like PFC social support circuit after independence from the mother (PN28), and this circuit remains functional after early-life trauma, although its effectiveness appears reduced. This is in sharp contrast to the effects of early life trauma during infancy, where social buffering of the infant is more robustly impacted. We suggest that the infant social buffering circuit is disengaged by early-life trauma, while the adolescent PFC-dependent social buffering circuit may use a safety signal with unreliable safety value.
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| 14. |
- Zakrzewska, Marta, et al.
(author)
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Body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with prejudice towards a fictive group of immigrants
- 2019
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In: Physiology and Behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-9384 .- 1873-507X. ; 201, s. 221-227
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Why are certain individuals persistent in opposing immigration? The behavioral immune system framework implies that a psychological mechanism, which adapted to detect and avoid pathogen threats, is also reflected in contemporary social attitudes. Moreover, prejudice towards outgroups might be partially driven by implicit pathogen concerns related to the perceived dissimilarity with these groups' hygiene and food preparation practices. Disgust, a universal core emotion supposedly evolved to avoid pathogen threats, as well as olfaction, both play a pivotal role in evoking disgust. In an online study (N = 800), we investigated whether individual differences in body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) correlate with negative attitudes towards a fictive refugee group. The data analysis plan and hypotheses were preregistered. Results show that body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with xenophobia: BODS was positively associated with negative attitudes towards the fictive group. This relationship was partially mediated by perceived dissimilarities of the group in terms of hygiene and food preparation. Our finding suggests prejudice might be rooted in sensory mechanisms.
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