Cited by 13Face Recognition and PerceptionAttachment and Relationship DynamicsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Neural Responses to Faces of Attachment Figures and Unfamiliar Faces: Associations With Organized and Disorganized Attachment Representations

Petrowski, Katja, Wintermann, Gloria-Beatrice, Hübner, Thomas, Smolka, Michael N., Donix, Markus·2019·Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease

Abstract

The neural response to faces of attachment figures compared with unfamiliar faces still remains elusive. In particular, the modulation of the neural response by the organized (secure, insecure) compared with disorganized attachment representation of the subject investigated is unknown. For the present study, 38 healthy participants (age range, 21–71 years) were recruited. Three attachment groups (secure, n = 14; insecure, n = 15; disorganized, n = 9) were assessed using the Adult Attachment Projective. The participants were shown pictures of the faces of attachment figures (romantic partner/parents) and unfamiliar faces in a blocked factorial design, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Showing pictures of attachment figures activated parts of a neural social judgment network, important for inferring others' affective and cognitive mental states (e.g., inferior parietal lobe/superior temporal gyrus) in securely attached healthy individuals. In contrast, disorganized attached individuals with the experience of unresolved attachment trauma in their biography showed deactivations in these areas.

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Crossref · 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000931

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  • Complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder

    Ford, J. D., & Courtois, C. A. (2021) · Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation · doi:10.1186/s40479-021-00155-9 · Cited by 209 · see citing works

    “ent with those findings, neurobiological research shows that adults with disorganized attachment working models tend to experience deactivation in areas of the temporal and parietal cortices in the brain that are involved in social cognition and empathy, in contrast to heightened activation of those areas in the brain…”
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Authors
Petrowski, K., Wintermann, G.-B., Hübner, T., Smolka, M. N., & Donix, M.
Affiliations
  • University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
  • University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus (DE)
  • Technische Universität Dresden (DE)
  • German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Dresden (DE)
Corresponding author
Petrowski, Katja
Venue
Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease
Published
2019-02
Volume
207
Issue
2
Pages
112-120
ISSN
  • 0022-3018 (ISSN-L)
  • 1539-736X
OpenAlex
W2912430249
Cited by
13
References
39
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2015: 1
FWCI
0.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DZNE Pub (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
attachment figures, face perception, attachment security, disorganized attachment, inferior parietal lobule, superior temporal gyrus, attachment trauma, social cognition
MeSH terms
Facial Recognition, Psychological Trauma, Adult, Aged, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Net, Object Attachment, Parents, Sexual Partners, Social Perception, Spouses, Young Adult

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