Editorial: Neuroscience of Human Attachment

The Research Topic " Neuroscience of Human Attachment " includes innovative papers representing a broad spectrum of contemporary approaches to the investigation of biologically based systems that guide cognitive and emotional processes associated with intimate and significant relationships. This spectrum includes studies and theoretical reviews that discuss neurobiological substrates (fMRI, EEG, psychophysiology, endocrine parameters, genetic polymorphisms) using a range of psychometric approaches to attachment assessment [interview like e.g., the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) (George et al., unpublished manuscript; Main and Goldwyn, unpublished manuscript), free response like e.g., the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP) (George and West, 2012), self-report questionnaire like e.g., the Relationship Scales Questionnaire]. The first group of papers explored the identification of neural activation response patterns to different relationship-based stimuli presented in an fMRI context. Heckendorf et al. examined the effects of subliminal threatening primes on responses to the presentation of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Their study showed enhanced activity in social cognition areas in the posterior temporal/anterior parietal lobes in response to viewing unfamiliar faces, indicating increased effortful processing. Labek et al. showed the involvement of similar social cognitive cortical areas in response to viewing AAP attachment stimuli as compared with carefully matched control pictures. Interestingly, Davidovic et al. full the same neural system was also active in response to tactile pleasant skin strokes (i.e., caress-like). These studies replicate findings regarding the dual role of perceptual networks in social cognition and draw attention to issues that are currently debated in neurobiological models of empathy and mentalization (Keysers et al., 2010). The second group of papers investigated neural responses associated with individual differences in attachment. This section begins with a review paper by Gander and Buchheim that describes infant and adult attachment group differences in physiological responsiveness, such as adrenocortical activity, heart rate and skin conductance, and frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry. The authors demonstrate the role of secure attachment, as compared with insecure attachment, as a physiological reactivity buffer to stress responses, noting also that investigations examining the most extreme forms of insecurity (disorganized and unresolved attachment) are still lacking. With regard to insecure adult attachment, Wichmann et al. demonstrated using a Reaction Time paradigm that statements derived from insecure AAP responses (typically describing unpleasant, unsatisfying, or conflictual themes) required significantly greater " unconscious " processing time as compared with sentences derived from secure responses. Several studies specifically investigated the footprint of so called insecure dismissing attachment, …