Lecture 9: Relationships (NSBED, UU)

What is a relationship? Just interaction is not enough. There has to be distress and longing in separation, and a sense of well-being in presence. Also known as social bonds.

Relationships have health benefits.

Love is the emotion associated with being in an attachment relationship.

Sternberg’s Triangular theory -  love consists of three factors:

• Passion
• Commitment
• Intimacy

The passionate phase lasts 6 months to 3 years. Other factors may ensure continuation after this face (intimacy, cost of leaving, etc.). Arranged marriages are high on commitment, but other factors may increase over time.

Falling in love has similarities with clinical symptoms of for example OCD.

Hormonal and neurochemical changes are associated with only the passionate phase of a relationship.

• There is activation of dopamine in the VTA when seeing photos of partner.
• There is also activity in reward-related regions linked to oxytocin / vasopressin.
• There is deactivation in regions such as amygdala, temporo-parietal junction, mPFC (mentalizing regions).

Love acts as a buffer against stress and pain.

Attachment is found in all animals in which infants are initially in need of care.

The brain area that is activated as response to infant faces is rich in oxytocin and dopamine. 

According to Ainsworth et al. (1978) there are three types of attachment that relate to different types of parental sensitivity:

1. Secure                        -           Moderately upset at separation, greets positively
2. Insecure anxious        -           Highly stressed at separation, hard to comfort at reunion
3. Insecure avoidant      -           Avoids contact, especially at reunion

Attachment security predicts neural differences in face processing for infants and mothers.

Attachment insecurity increases SCR and amygdala activity.

Mother infant bonding forms the basis of other forms of social bonding. It is founded upon the same neural circuit.

Oxytocin is strongly related to maternal behavior.

Partner preference paradigm – disruption of oxytocin/vasopressin prevents partner preference formation.

Opioids – powerful painkillers and act on reward related mechanisms. It can upregulate the reward of social interactions and motivates us for it.

Panksepp’s brain opiod theory of social attachment – opioids contribute to emotional responding in close relationships and also to the behavior that might promote further bonding.

OXT promotes trust in humans. OXT administration results in increase in activation of the reward system when seeing pictures of partner. It reduces amygdala activation in response to fear stimuli

The effect oxytocin has on stress is modulated by the effect of oxytocin on the HPA axis.

So:

• Mother infant bonding shared neural circuitry (mammals)
• Forms the basis of other forms of social bonding
• Which is founded upon the same neural circuitry
• And neuro-endocrine system

Social pain may be evolutionary adapted from physical pain.

Opioids have pain killing effects for both physical pain and separation distress. Sensitivity to physical pain predicts sensitivity to self-reported social exclusion.

There is higher Mu-opioids receptor (MOR) activation in areas related to social pain after social rejection.

When in love: testosterone / serotonin is released

When loving & bonding: dopamine, oxytocin, opioids is released. 

Questions? Let me know in the contribution section!

Follow me for more summaries / lecture notes!