Research has shown that increased synchrony between parents and children may not always be beneficial. The study, conducted by the University of Essex, examined the behavioral and brain-to-brain synchrony in 140 families for the first time, with a specific focus on attachment. The study assessed the emotional bonds between parents and children, as well as their brain activity, while they solved puzzles together.
It looked into the feelings and thoughts regarding emotional connections while also monitoring brain activity as parents worked on puzzles with their children.
The research, which was published in Developmental Science, found that mothers with insecure attachment characteristics exhibited greater brain-to-brain synchrony with their kids.
Dr. Pascal Vrticka, from the Department of Psychology, stated: “Sensitive and mutually attuned interactions with parents are crucial for the development of secure child attachment.
“If the parent, in this case the mother, has more insecure attachment traits, it may be more challenging for the
A study found that differences in behavioral and brain-to-brain synchrony patterns were dependent on whether the parent was a mother or father. The results showed that fathers and children exhibited stronger brain-to-brain synchrony, while mothers and their kids demonstrated stronger behavioral synchrony. The research also indicated that increased brain-to-brain synchrony might be a neural compensation mechanism to compensate for less attuned interaction elements.
There is a lack of behavioural synchrony.
Research hopes to stimulate studies into parent-child relationships and create new opportunities for intervention and prevention.
This comes as Dr. Vrticka prepares to collaborate with the NHS to investigate family relationships.
He stated: “We will soon begin examining synchrony within families with neurodivergent children and children with experiences of care and adoption, in partnership with the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
“Our goal is to identify behavioral and neurobiological indicators of an optimal level of synchrony to assist all families with their relationships and child development.”
Attachment development is an important aspect to consider when looking at relationships. It’s not just low synchrony, but also high synchrony that can indicate difficulties in interactions and relationships.
Researchers assessed attachment in parents through interviews and in children through a story completion task.
Brain-to-brain synchrony between parents and children was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning.
The interactions between parents and children were video-recorded and analyzed for behavioral synchrony.
The study was conducted by Dr. Trinh Nguyen, who is now working at the Italian Institute of Technology in Rome, Italy.
Dr Melanie Kungl from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, and her colleagues from Vienna, Berlin, and Leipzig are the authors of the study.
