Mechanisms and functional implications of social buffering in infants: Lessons from animal models

Social Neuroscience
Regina M Sullivan, Rosemarie E Perry

Abstract

Social buffering, which is the attenuation of stress hormone release by a social partner, occurs in many species throughout the lifespan. Social buffering of the infant by the caregiver is particularly robust, and animal models using infant rodents are uncovering the mechanisms and neural circuitry supporting social buffering. At birth, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress system is functional but is suppressed via extended social buffering by the mother: the profound social buffering effects of the mother can last for 1-2 hours when pups are removed from the mother. At 10 days of age, pups begin to mount a stress response immediately when separated from the mother. The stimuli from the mother supporting social buffering are broad, for tactile stimulation, milk, and an anesthetized mother (no maternal behavior) all sufficiently support social buffering. The mother appears to produce social buffering by blocking norepinephrine (NE) release into the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), which blocks HPA activation. Since the infant amygdala relies on the presence of corticosterone (CORT), this suggests that social buffering of pups by the mother attenuates the neurobehavioral stress response in infancy and preven...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 9, 2016·Social Neuroscience·Sanne J H van RooijTanja Jovanovic
Apr 18, 2016·Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology·Tracey J Shors, Emma M Millon
Sep 3, 2016·New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development·Dylan G Gee
Nov 9, 2016·Neurobiology of Learning and Memory·Jacek Debiec, Regina M Sullivan
Feb 28, 2017·Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences·Adrienne SantiagoRegina M Sullivan
Jan 15, 2018·Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review·Erin A BrownJustin Kenardy
Jul 12, 2019·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Patrese A Robinson-DrummerRegina M Sullivan
Oct 8, 2019·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Sarah MyruskiTracy Dennis-Tiwary
Dec 16, 2017·Psychodynamic Psychiatry·Regina M Sullivan
Oct 23, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Charlis RainekiRegina M Sullivan
Feb 11, 2020·Developmental Psychobiology·María C IfranGiselle V Kamenetzky
Sep 10, 2020·Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences·Kristina Woodard, Seth D Pollak
Dec 11, 2017·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Yasushi Kiyokawa, Michael B Hennessy
Sep 28, 2017·Current Opinion in Psychology·Nim Tottenham, Laurel J Gabard-Durnam
Apr 24, 2021·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Iliyan Ivanov, Jeffrey M Schwartz

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