Neurobiology
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Brain development
Babies learn more from 0-3 than any other time period
By age 3, brains are twice as active as adult brains
Experiences have a disproportionate impact on development of neural systems
RISK FACTORS: abuse, trauma, lack of proper nutrition are THREATS to BRAIN
DEVELOPMENT
Note: “Early negative interpersonal experiences become a primary source of the
symptoms for which people seek relief in psychotherapy” (Stepp, 2007).
Infantile amnesia:
Why can't we remember the ages of 0-3?
Answer: Infantile Amnesia - caused by the immaturity of hippocampal-cortical networks
1. Implicit memory: available from birth
2. Explicit memory: in the hippocampus – not developed until 18 months
3. Most of our emotional memories are created before we have words or explicit recall, yet
they influence our lives without awareness
 EX: Although a traumatized person might not remember explicitly the
traumatized event, memory is held in the body and trauma is as well
(Book suggestion: The Body Keeps Score
Explaining the BraThe Brain Stem
Most Basic
Reptilian part of the brain focused on Survival & Instinct = The brain stem focuses mostly on
our automatic nervous system.
Limbic System (Emotional Brain) – Mammals & Includes Amygdala
4. Cortex
1) BRAIN STEM (Hind Brain, Lizard Brain)
 Automatic activities
 Fight/Flight/Freeze
 Heart/Respiration/Procedural Memory (Present tense)
 Developed originally to evade predators
 Awareness of an outer sensory world
 Unconscious
 Develops in first trimester of gestation; foundation for the limbic
system
2) LIMBIC (Subcortex, Mid Brain, Old Mammalian, Emotional Brain)
 Emotions, Feelings, Reactions (Past and Present Tense)
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General cognition of the world as being “other”
Awareness of an inner, subjective world
Conscious & Unconscious
Develops in second trimester of gestation; foundation of the cortex
3) CEREBRAL CORTEX (Fore brain, New Mammalian)
 Thinking, reasoning, language (Past, Present, and Future Tenses)
 Imagination
 Consciousness
 Connected to and influences lower levels
 Develops in third trimester of gestation and up to about age 25
 FOREBRAIN = Largest part of the brain = Contains Cerebral
Cortex
Neurotransmitters (Serotonin, Oxytocin, Endorphins, Cortisol)
Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers of the nervous system (several types released by
different neurons)
Serotonin – Mood (Depression) 80% in gut
Oxytocin – (Or vasopressin) Love, Intimacy, Sex/Orgasm, Labor/Childbirth, Maternal Bonding,
Social Recognition, Autism
- Attachment – The Role of Oxytocin to decrease cortisol comes from GOOD
RELATIONSHIPS and PETTING ANIMALS
Endorphins – Endogenous opioid; analgesic; sexual activity; exercise
Cortisol – Fight/Flight; Stress response
- Trauma and high level of cortisol release  amygdala over functions, which holds
emotional and traumatic memories and OFC under functions
Role of antagonists vs. agonists
AGONISTS – Chemicals MIMIC neurotransmitter receptor site; STRENGTHEN its effects
ANTAGONISTS – Blocks/Impedes normal activity of neurotransmitter
Roles of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
Sympathetic & Parasympathetic Nervous System  Complimentary Functions that Work
Together to maintain body’s homeostasis
HOMEOSTASIS – State of equilibrium of biological conditions (body temperature…)
Sympathetic Nervous System – Activation of nervous system in response to threat or
motivation (Sympathetic – Fight or Flight)
Parasympathetic Nervous System – Controls body in times of rest; conservation of bodily
energy; immunological functions; repair of damaged systems  Interacts with & Regulates
INTERNAL environment (Parasympathetic - Rest and Digest)
HOW TO ACTIVATE THE PNS – RESEARCH SUGGESTS:
- Breathing Techniques (Belly Breathing = LONG exhales)
- Mindful Meditations (Body Scan)
- Rest
Cortex
Cortex
- CEREBRAL CORTEX - Higher level processes, consciousness, thought, emotion
o The size of the cortex has grown in response to the size of
social relationships (primates)
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Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
 Executive Functioning
 Judgement & Decision Making
 Problem Solving (adolescents & young adults)
 Reduced Activity of PVC = PTSD & ADHD
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)
 Blood Pressure, Heart Rate
 Motivation & Emotional Regulation
 Reduced Activation or Damage = ADHD, Schizophrenia,
Depression
Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC)
- One synapse away from limbic system, brainstem, and neocortex
o Serves as the brains emotional regulation system and chief executive officer
o OFC calms down the Amygdala and helps making choices in line with goals and
values
o OFC is active in self-awareness, response flexibility regulation of emotion, and
empathy
 There are limits to OFC’s ability to keep amygdala in check = early
trauma, abuse, or neglect can impair the OFC’s functioning
Amygdala
Amygdala – FIGHT OR FLIGHT
- Learn to fear or unlearn fear
- Fear center = Devoted to survival
- Consolidates fear memories in the right side of the brain
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Rage, Shame, Fear Reactions (Core emotions associated with
psychotherapy)
NEGATIVITY BIAS – Better safe than sorry!
CRITICAL for assessment of trustworthiness of others
IMPLICIT MEMORY = NON-CONSCIOUS
 Experience of emotion – Tying emotional meaning to memory
Neuroplasticity
Two Elements:
1) First, research indicates that the brain changes throughout life;
2) Second, the brain changes in response to what it experiences – it is shaped by
experience.
- “The brain becomes literally constructed by interactions with others… Our neural
machinery…is, by evolution, designed to be altered by relationship experiences.” –
Daniel Siegel
- Interpersonal neurobiology identifies how the brain is wired through relationships and
connection.
 Brain = Billions of Neurons; thousands of connections with other
neurons
 Neurons meet at synapses (small gaps between neurons) and
communicate across the synaptic gap via neurotransmitters
 Neuronal circuits wired though combination of nature and nurture;
genetics and experience
- The Brain is a SOCIAL ORGAN built via EXPERIENCE (Interpersonal Neurobiology)
Attachment theory
Attachment – A key component of emotional development – attachment is the ability to form
emotional bonds with other people.
Our experience [with our caretakers] alters, even distorts, the lens through which we see the
world, and the choices we make are based on that altered vision. At birth, each of us is handed a
lens by our family of origin, our culture . . ., through which to see the world. As it is the only
lens we have ever known, we will presume to see reality directly even as we are seeing it
colored and distorted. . . . we do not even know that we do not know, and what we do not
know will often make [our] choices for us. (p.45) Hollis, J. (2010). What matters most: Living
a more considered life. New York: Gotham Books
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Attunement = Emotional Harmony
Feeling Felt AKA Attunement is a key component of adult relationships and most
injuries happen when attunement is not felt. Injuries happen when we do not feel attuned
o “To feel empathic with another-one must be calm and receptive, empathy does
not coexist with agitation or preoccupation”
Proximity to nurturing others = Security & Exploration (secure base)
ATTACHMENT THEORY
- John Bowlby  sent to boarding school early on, “poor” attachment with his mother
- Started with a focus on infant mother attachment
- 20 years later – it also focuses on adult functioning
- Perhaps one of the most important aspects of infant development
o Poverty & Violence Impact Attachment
- Bowlby’s description of attachment theory – Research indicates that type of attachment
style during childhood become relatively stable during adulthood (working model of self)
“The ability to regulate affect depends on the security of the base of the early attachment
figures. Insecure attachment can take the form of anxious, disorganized, or avoidant
patterns.”
Types of attachment styles
Secure Attachment
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Secure: I’m okay, you’re okay, we’re okay, it’s okay
Caregiver is available physically and emotionally, appropriately responsive (good
enough)
Results in easy expression of self (both positives and negatives)
Develops into a child who is calm & confident
Deep sense of personal value
Willing to establish intimate and caring relationships
Willing to take considered risks
Relaxed exploration
o The child uses the mother as a home base and feels comfortable leaving this base
to explore. The child returns to the mother every so often to ensure she is still
present. With the act of separation, the securely attached child will cry and seek
comfort from the mother when she returns. This child is easily reassured and
soothed by the mothers return.
Anxious/Ambivalent Attachment
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Anxious/Ambivalent: Pay attention to me!
Caregiver is inconsistent (self-absorbed); inconsistently appropriate in responses
Results in hyperactivation on separation, anger on return
Develops into Preoccupied, clingy, demanding
Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, personality disorders
o The child is reluctant to explore and clings to the mother. Upon separation, the
child cries for a long time. When the mother returns, the child seeks solace but
continues to cry and may way at or pull away from the mother. These infants
doubted that their mothers would be able to provide the safety and security they
need.
Avoidant Attachment
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Avoidant: Leave me alone! I’ll take care of myself
Caregivers distancing, neglectful, punishing dependency & rewarding independence
Results in deactivation strategies; little visible distress on separation, turning away on
return
Develops into Distancing, little intimacy - Outwardly secure, inwardly clueless about
emotion
Personality disorders
o Some infants seem indifferent to the present of their mother. Whether the mother
is present or absent from the room, these children’s responses are the same.
Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment
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Disorganized: I live in terror
Caregiver is frightened or frightening (origin of terror AND source of safety), intrusive,
with affective communication errors
Results in biological paradox; collapse of proximity-seeking strategies; freezing,
dissociation, rocking, head banging
Develops into a fearful adult style, approach-avoidance behaviors, borderline
o These children display contradictory behavior; they attempt physical closeness
but retreat with acts of avoidance. These infants often have mothers who are
depressed, have a history of being abused, or continue to struggle with traumatic
experiences in their own lives.
Internal working model of self
Working Model – Bowlby contends that infants can demonstrate attachment behavior to others;
however, attachment to the mother occurs earlier than attachment to others and is stronger and
more consistent. It is thought that the earliest attachment becomes the child’s working model for
subsequent relationships.
Internal working model of self
Internal working model of self (IWM)
- Sense of lovability and social value/acceptance
- I am as I am treated
o Multiple IWMs in different contexts
o Resistant to change
o Implicit (unconscious)
o Salient (repetition, life/death)
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development (up until middle childhood)
ERIK ERIKSON –PSYCHOSOCIAL (SOCIOEMOTIONAL) DEVELOPMENT
- Socioemotional development occurs in 8 consecutive, age-defined stages
- Each stage requires the mastery of a developmental task
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Mastery at each stage depends on mastery in the previous stage
Erikson’s theory of human development that encompasses the complete life cycle
Congruent with a systems approach (Meaning that context (like policy and culture) can
influence what is going on too)
Based on Epigenetic Principle
1) Age: Birth – 1 YEAR OLD
 Psychosocial Challenge: TRUST vs MISTRUST
o Infants must form trusting relationships with caregivers or they will learn to
distrust the world
o Consistency in having physical and emotional needs met helps infant develop a
sense that the outside world is an okay place to be
o Movie Example: Boo getting scared by Sully in Monsters Inc.
2) Age: Toddlerhood 1-3 YEARS OLD
 Psychosocial Challenge: AUTONOMY vs SHAME & DOUBT
 Toddlers must develop self-confidence and a sense of mastery over themselves and
their worlds and they must use newly developed motor skills, or they will develop
shame and doubt about their inability to control the world
 Movie Example: Nemo wanting to swim out but his father telling him, “You know you
aren’t a good swimmer! You have a messed up fin – you aren’t as good at swimming
as the other fish you cannot be self-efficient etc..” and Nemo develops shame and doubt
about his abilities because of his fin in Finding Nemo
3) Age: Early Childhood 3-5 YEARS OLD
 Psychosocial Challenge: INITIATIVE vs GUILT
 Young children must develop a growing capacity to plan and initiate actions or they
may feel guilty about their taking initiative.
 Movie Example: In the Pixar movie Inside Out we are able to see inside Riley’s “core
memories” and we see her parents’ pride when she scores her first goal in hockey – Her
parents show a passion and encouragement for her activities and she develops a love
for hockey.
4) Age: Middle Childhood 6-11 YEARS OLD
 Psychosocial Challenge: INDUSTRY vs INFERIORITY
 School-aged children must develop a sense of competence to master and complete tasks
or they learn to feel inferior and incompetent
 Movie Example: The Incredibles - Dash is not allowed to compete in sports because of
his super-human speed. At the end of the movie, when he is allowed to compete is
sports he finally is able to receive recognition from his family and he demonstrates
industry.
Importance of play
Importance of play
- It is their job to play
- To develop motor skills, problem solving, communication skills, expression of feelings,
self-confidence, cooperation,
- INFANT PLAY
- Vocal play – experimenting with sound
- Interactive Play – communicating and making connections – initiating interactions by
smiling and vocalizing
- Exploratory play with objects – to learn about shape texture color movement sounds
- Baby Games – to build emotional bonds
TODDLER PLAY
- FUNCTIONAL PLAY – Engaging in simple, repetitive motor movements
- CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY – Creating and constructing objects
- MAKE BELIEVE PLAY – Acting out everyday functions and tasks and playing with
an imaginary friend.
“Play is crucial to child development. Play allows infants and toddlers to enhance motor,
cognitive, language, emotional, social and moral development.”
THE PREDOMINANT TYPE OF PLAY IS SYMBOLIC PLAY (In early childhood)
- Explore reality, practice morality, contributes to cognitive development, allowing young
children to gain control over their lives, serving as a shared experience and opportunity
for development of peer culture and as the route for attachment to fathers
- “The person, not the toys” = best teacher to the child
Temperament styles
Temperament – A way of looking at emotional development is to evaluate temperament – the
individual’s innate disposition. 9 Components of temperament: activity level, regularity of
biological functions, initial reaction to any new stimulus, adaptability, intensity of reaction, level
of stimulation needed to evoke a discernable response, quality of mood, distractibility, and
attention span or persistence.
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Individuals innate disposition
3 Types of Temperament:
Easy – good mood, regular patterns of eating and sleeping, general calmness
Slow to Warm – Few intense reactions, low in activity level
Difficult – negative mood, irregular sleeping and eating patterns, difficult adapting to
new experiences and people
Different parenting styles (e.g., authoritarian, vs. authoritative)
Authoritative – high warmth high control high autonomy granting
- PREFERED PARENTING STYLE
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Parents consider the child’s view point but remain in control
WARM, NURTURING, POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, SET FIRM LIMITS AND
PROVIDE RATIONALE BEHIND RULES AND DECISIONS
o Children of this style of parenting demonstrate academic achievement, selfesteem, and social competence
Authoritarian – low warmth high control low autonomy
- Parents favor punishment and negative reinforcement
- Child is a subordinate
- COLD, HARSH, PHYSICAL FORCE, NO EXPLANATION FOR RULES
o Children become hostile, moody and have difficulty managing stress
Permissive - High warmth low control high autonomy
- Accepts children’s behavior with out attempting to modify it
- WARM AND FRIENDLY WITH NO DIRECTION GIVEN
o Children from this parenting style are cheerful but demonstrate little if any
impulse control
Neglectful - Low warmth low control low autonomy granting
Protective - High warmth high control low autonomy granting
Impact of poverty on mental and physical health
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence – Refers to the ability to “motivate oneself and persist in the face of
frustrations, to control impulse and delay gratification, to regulate one’s moods and keep distress
from swamping the ability to think, to empathize and to hope.”
The first step in CBT – AWARENESS
FIRST STEP = Awareness - Become aware of the mental habit – identify the thoughts – write
it down when they notice they are anxious (what are you thinking? What are the thoughts? Start
to see patterns in thoughts and gives some distance from thoughts) EX: I might get lost and
never find the building, I can’t handle this, I will stumble over my words and look stupid, ill be
late and they’ll be angry
Major takeaways from “journal club” readings