Dr. Allan Schore: How Relationships Shape Your Brain

Attachment Styles

Attachment styles, formed in early childhood, significantly influence emotional and relational behaviors throughout life. Allan Schore explains that these styles, such as secure, avoidant, anxious, and disorganized, are rooted in right-brain processes and are retained as autobiographical memories 1. These early attachments impact how individuals regulate emotions and interact with others, with secure attachments allowing for better communication between brain hemispheres 2.

The attachment relationship is retained as an autobiographical memory in the first two years of life, even before there's a Left hemisphere.

--- Allan Schore

Andrew Huberman adds that these patterns can be reactivated in adult relationships, crossing gender lines and adapting to new contexts 3.

   

Parent-Child Interaction

Parent-child interactions play a crucial role in shaping attachment and brain development, particularly through right-brain processes. Allan Schore highlights that the primary caregiver, often the mother, initially provides right-brain regulation, while the father contributes to left-brain development through more stimulating interactions 4. This dynamic helps children learn to manage arousal and develop autonomy.

The right hemisphere is dominant for the stress response, the sympathetic nervous system, and the parasympathetic nervous system.

--- Allan Schore

In therapeutic settings, similar right-brain interactions are essential for repairing attachment issues, as therapists work to regulate patients' emotional states and foster trust 5.