Do neural responses to rejection depend on attachment style? An fMRI study

Abstract

Social bonds fulfill the basic human need to belong. Being rejected thwarts this basic need, putting bonds with others at risk. Attachment theory suggests that people satisfy their need to belong through different means. Whereas anxious attachment is associated with craving acceptance and showing vigilance to cues that signal possible rejection, avoidant attachment is associated with discomfort with closeness and using avoidant strategies to regulate one's relationships. Given these different styles by which people satisfy their need to belong (that can operate simultaneously within the same individual), responses to social rejection may differ according to these individual differences in attachment anxiety and avoidance. To test this hypothesis, we used neuroimaging techniques to examine how the degree to which people display each of the two attachment dimensions (anxiety and avoidance) uniquely correlated with their neural activity during a simulated experience of social exclusion. Anxious attachment related to heightened activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula, regions previously associated with rejection-related distress. In contrast, avoidant attachment related to less activity in these regions. Findings are discussed in terms of the strategies that individuals with varying attachment styles might use to promote maintenance of social bonds.

Towards a second-person neuropsychiatry

“…Apart from being intrinsically rewarding and motivating, social interactions (or their absence) can also constitute an important stressor [71,72], which may be particularly true for individuals for whom positive reinforcement in social interactions is very important and/or for individuals who react strongly to signs of social rejection or inclusion [73,74]. Indeed, neuroimaging studies have found reduced brain activations in rewardrelated neurocircuitry during depressive episodes ( [75][76][77]; see tables 1 and 2), but social interaction-based rewards have not yet been systematically studied.…”

Social Pain and the Brain: Controversies, Questions, and Where to Go from Here

“…In addition, one study demonstrated that participants showed overlapping neural activity in both affective (dACC, AI) and sensory (PI, S2) regions in response to a physical pain task and a social pain task (Kross et al 2011). Finally, several factors known to increase sensitivity to social pain, such as low self-esteem (Onoda et al 2010), anxious attachment (DeWall et al 2012), and interpersonal sensitivity (Eisenberger et al 2007b), have been shown to be associated with greater dACC and/or AI activity to social exclusion. Likewise, factors known to reduce sensitivity to social pain, such as social support (Eisenberger et al 2007a) and avoidant attachment (DeWall et al 2012), have been associated with reduced dACC and/or AI activity to social exclusion.…”

“…Finally, several factors known to increase sensitivity to social pain, such as low self-esteem (Onoda et al 2010), anxious attachment (DeWall et al 2012), and interpersonal sensitivity (Eisenberger et al 2007b), have been shown to be associated with greater dACC and/or AI activity to social exclusion. Likewise, factors known to reduce sensitivity to social pain, such as social support (Eisenberger et al 2007a) and avoidant attachment (DeWall et al 2012), have been associated with reduced dACC and/or AI activity to social exclusion. Together, these studies support the hypothesis that physical and social pain overlap in their underlying neural substrates.…”

Childhood Maltreatment and Coping in Bipolar Disorder

“…Increased dorsal ACC/mPFC to exclusion may be dependent on individual differences. As dorsal mPFC activity is especially pronounced in individuals sensitive to interpersonal rejection [24], [25], anxiously attached [26], and/or having low self-esteem [27,28]. Therefore, dorsal ACC/mPFC responsivity to social rejection may also be evident in individuals with CEM.…”