Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc
We have previously proposed that mothers and infants co-regulate one another’s autonomic state through an autonomic conditioning mechanism, which starts during gestation and results in the formation of autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs) following birth. Theoretically, autonomic physiology asso...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.841207/full |
| _version_ | 1828825094006243328 |
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| author | Robert J. Ludwig Martha G. Welch Martha G. Welch Martha G. Welch |
| author_facet | Robert J. Ludwig Martha G. Welch Martha G. Welch Martha G. Welch |
| author_sort | Robert J. Ludwig |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We have previously proposed that mothers and infants co-regulate one another’s autonomic state through an autonomic conditioning mechanism, which starts during gestation and results in the formation of autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs) following birth. Theoretically, autonomic physiology associated with the ASR should correlate concomitantly with behaviors of mother and infant, although the neuronal pathway by which this phenomenon occurs has not been elucidated. In this paper, we consider the neuronal pathway by which sensory stimuli between a mother and her baby/child affect the physiology and emotional behavior of each. We divide our paper into two parts. In the first part, to gain perspective on current theories on the subject, we conduct a 500-year narrative history of scientific investigations into the human nervous system and theories that describe the neuronal pathway between sensory stimulus and emotional behavior. We then review inconsistencies between several currently accepted theories and recent data. In the second part, we lay out a new theory of emotions that describes how sensory stimuli between mother and baby unconsciously control the behavior and physiology of both. We present a theory of mother/infant emotion based on a set of assumptions fundamentally different from current theories. Briefly, we propose that mother/infant sensory stimuli trigger conditional autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs), which drive cardiac function and behavior without the benefit of the thalamus, amygdala or cortex. We hold that the ASR is shaped by an evolutionarily conserved autonomic learning mechanism (i.e., functional Pavlovian conditioning) that forms between mother and fetus during gestation and continues following birth. We highlight our own and others research findings over the past 15 years that support our contention that mother/infant socioemotional behavior is driven by mutual autonomic state plasticity, as opposed to cortical trait plasticity. We review a novel assessment tool designed to measure the behaviors associated with the ASR phenomenon. Finally, we discuss the significance of our theory for the treatment of mothers and infants with socioemotional disorders. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T14:10:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7e021c2e670d4f76963b9d276f5673af |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T14:10:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e021c2e670d4f76963b9d276f5673af2022-12-22T00:22:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-06-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.841207841207Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex ArcRobert J. Ludwig0Martha G. Welch1Martha G. Welch2Martha G. Welch3Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesWe have previously proposed that mothers and infants co-regulate one another’s autonomic state through an autonomic conditioning mechanism, which starts during gestation and results in the formation of autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs) following birth. Theoretically, autonomic physiology associated with the ASR should correlate concomitantly with behaviors of mother and infant, although the neuronal pathway by which this phenomenon occurs has not been elucidated. In this paper, we consider the neuronal pathway by which sensory stimuli between a mother and her baby/child affect the physiology and emotional behavior of each. We divide our paper into two parts. In the first part, to gain perspective on current theories on the subject, we conduct a 500-year narrative history of scientific investigations into the human nervous system and theories that describe the neuronal pathway between sensory stimulus and emotional behavior. We then review inconsistencies between several currently accepted theories and recent data. In the second part, we lay out a new theory of emotions that describes how sensory stimuli between mother and baby unconsciously control the behavior and physiology of both. We present a theory of mother/infant emotion based on a set of assumptions fundamentally different from current theories. Briefly, we propose that mother/infant sensory stimuli trigger conditional autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs), which drive cardiac function and behavior without the benefit of the thalamus, amygdala or cortex. We hold that the ASR is shaped by an evolutionarily conserved autonomic learning mechanism (i.e., functional Pavlovian conditioning) that forms between mother and fetus during gestation and continues following birth. We highlight our own and others research findings over the past 15 years that support our contention that mother/infant socioemotional behavior is driven by mutual autonomic state plasticity, as opposed to cortical trait plasticity. We review a novel assessment tool designed to measure the behaviors associated with the ASR phenomenon. Finally, we discuss the significance of our theory for the treatment of mothers and infants with socioemotional disorders.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.841207/fullapproach-avoidancestate–traitbrainstemsignaling pathwayemotioninstinct |
| spellingShingle | Robert J. Ludwig Martha G. Welch Martha G. Welch Martha G. Welch Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc Frontiers in Psychology approach-avoidance state–trait brainstem signaling pathway emotion instinct |
| title | Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc |
| title_full | Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc |
| title_fullStr | Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc |
| title_short | Wired to Connect: The Autonomic Socioemotional Reflex Arc |
| title_sort | wired to connect the autonomic socioemotional reflex arc |
| topic | approach-avoidance state–trait brainstem signaling pathway emotion instinct |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.841207/full |
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