Human Nest

• Soothing perinatal experiences: No separation from the mother; in indigenous tribes, infants are strapped to the mother's back or breast. This practice lasts for extended periods.

• Breastfeeding: In these tribes, breastfeeding can last 2–5 years, which is much longer compared to Western cultures.

• Affectionate Touch and Responsivity: Constant interaction and responsiveness between mother and child.

• Free Play and Social Embeddedness: Play without restrictions enhances social bonding and development.

• Empathy: Has deep evolutionary roots (Darwin, 1871). Freud (1938) noted that infants are empathic from birth. Ferreira (1961) described this as an intuitive, almost supernatural ability.

Intersubjective Infant Experience

• Infants are highly receptive to stimuli from the social world. They show "social fittedness" from early on, for example, distinguishing their mother's breast milk by scent (Macfarlane, 1975).

• Proto-conversations: Dyadic, emotionally charged exchanges with caregivers (Trevarthen, 1979).

Parental Brain and Social Fittedness

• Parental Brain: The caregiving brain adapts to promote children’s social development (Feldman, 2015).

• Synchrony: Synchronised interactions between parent and child have long-term developmental effects (Leckman & March, 2011).

Affective Communication

• Infants engage in early forms of communication through face-to-face interactions.

• Mirror-role of mother: The mother's face reflects the infant’s emotions (Winnicott, 1971).

Synchrony

• A universal drive: Synchronisation between individuals and even atoms (Strogatz, 2004).

• Parent-child synchrony regulates physiological and emotional processes, leading to long-term developmental outcomes (Feldman, 2007).

• Synchrony’s effects: Blurs boundaries between self and other (Paladino et al., 2010), increases similarity and closeness (Rabinowitch & Knafo-Noam, 2015), and promotes prosocial behavior in infants (Cirelli et al., 2014).

Mother-Infant Attunement

• (The emotional connection and responsiveness such as synchrony)

• Best attunement rates: Occur 28-34% of the time (Tronick & Beeghly, 2011).

• Misattunement: Requires rapid repair within 3-5 seconds (Reck et al., 2004). Delayed reparation leads to heightened cortisol (stress) reactivity in infants and attempts at self-soothing when the situation is too overwhelming.

Co-regulation and Neural Development

• The neocortex gradually develops, allowing better emotional regulation over time. Until then, the parent acts as the external regulator for the child (Hariri et al., 2000).

• Maternal buffering: The presence of a mother lowers amygdala reactivity in children but not adolescents (Gee et al., 2014).

Emotion Regulation and Maternal Presence

• Tasks like emotional face recognition improve in children when seated next to their mother, particularly for children with stronger maternal buffering effects (Feldman et al., 1999).

Affective Communication and Development

• Critical areas influenced by parent-child affective exchanges:

  • Physiology and Emotion Regulation (Feldman et al., 1999)

  • Attachment (Isabella et al., 1989; Stern et al., 1998)

  • Social Engagement (Feldman, 2007)

  • Self-formation (Emde, 1983; Tronick & Beeghly, 2011)

Affective Communication and Emotional Development

• Winnicott (1971):

Describes the role of the mother as a mirror for the baby. The baby sees a reflection of themselves in the mother’s face, which is crucial for their emotional development.

• Healthy Emotional Development:

Depends on coordinated patterns of affective communication between caregiver and infant.

• Atypical Communication:

Modern caregiving practices differ significantly from those historically followed by humans, which can affect emotional development (Hewlett & Lamb, 2005).

2. Disrupted Communication

• Sensitivity to Timing:

Infants are highly sensitive to the timing of interactions. Studies show that infants can detect even brief lags in communication (Henning & Striano, 2011).

• Depressed Mothers:

Infants of mothers with depression often experience disruptions, such as frequent breaks in eye contact or extended pauses in interactions (Feldman, 2007; Zlochower & Cohn, 1996).

3. Parenting Practices and Maternal Depression

• Postpartum Depression:

Maternal depressive symptoms at 2-4 months postpartum are associated with lower odds of engaging in healthy parenting practices such as breastfeeding, social interactions, and routines (McLearn et al., 2006).

• Reduced Breastfeeding:

Studies suggest that depressive symptoms can lower the likelihood of breastfeeding and engaging in social activities like playing or showing books to the infant (Pope & Mazmanian, 2016).

4. Neural Activity in Depressed Mothers

• Response to Infant Cry:

Depressed mothers show reduced neural activation in response to their infants’ cries, indicating emotional disengagement (Laurent & Ablow, 2012).

5. Impact on Infant Behavior and Development

• Infant Temperament:

Infant temperament can predict the development of parental depression (Murray et al., 1996).

• Emotional Synchrony:

Infants of depressed mothers show lower emotional synchrony, reduced touch synchrony, and greater negative emotionality (Granat et al., 2017; Feldman et al., 2009).

• Cortisol Reactivity:

These infants also exhibit increased cortisol reactivity, a marker of stress response, contributing to their emotional difficulties.

6. Arousal Regulation in Infants

• Need for Co-modulation:

Infants depend on caregivers to regulate their arousal and raw emotional experiences. When caregivers fail to engage, infants may experience states of hyperarousal or immobility (Schore, 2012; Field, 2010).

• Alarm States: Disruptions in affective regulation can trigger fight-or-flight or freeze responses in infants, affecting long-term emotional regulation.

7. Defensive Adaptation and Emotional Development

• Relational Disruptions:

Infants of emotionally unavailable caregivers adapt by becoming emotionally defensive, which can result in emotional disorganization and a fragile self-concept (Tronick & Beeghly, 2011; van IJzendoorn et al., 1999).

• Winnicott (1954):

Describes this disruption as a pathological seduction of the mind away from the body's needs, leading to a disconnection between psyche and soma.

8. Self-Recognition and Attachment

• Mirror Self-Recognition:

Research indicates cultural differences in self-recognition and the development of autonomous vs. related selves (Ross et al., 2017).

• Attachment and Self-Recognition:

Securely attached infants are more likely to recognize themselves in mirrors compared to those with attachment insecurities (Lewis et al., 1985).

9. Changes in Adult Attachment Styles

• Longitudinal Meta-analysis:

Changes in attachment styles among American college students over time show shifts in attachment dynamics, possibly reflecting broader societal or developmental trends (Konrath et al., 2014).