Conference Agenda

Attachment theory suggests that parents' emotion regulation abilities and responsiveness to their children's needs may be associated with parental attachment representations. This is because when parents effectively co-regulate one another within the parental relationship – i.e., mutually adapt their behaviours, emotions, physiological states and goals and intentions amongst each other – they can create a more stable caregiving environment for their children.

While research has examined the possible role of interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) – i.e., the temporal alignment of brain activities – during parent-child interaction, much less is known about INS between parents during joint caregiving. Grounded in attachment theory, this study therefore explores the link between parent-parent INS, parental attachment styles, and caregiving behaviours during a triadic play task involving mothers, fathers and one of their children.

Fifty families with young children (4-8 years old) participate in a naturalistic cooperative game (Jenga) during which functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning data is collected from both parents (current sample size N=19). fNIRS uses infrared light to indirectly measure brain activity within the outermost layers of the cortex. The primary regions of interest are the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), with four channels per region. Self-report questionnaires assess parental attachment (i.e., Experiences in Close Relationships Revised [ERC-R]) and caregiving styles (i.e., Caregiving Experiences Questionnaire [CEQ]), and gameplay video recordings are coded for behavioural interaction quality (i.e., turn-taking, gaze patterns). INS is analysed using Wavelet Transform Coherence (WTC) over the 10-minute cooperative gameplay.

We posit that the quality of co-regulation between parents will be reflected in their INS patterns and associated with differences in their attachment and caregiving styles. By examining the neural mechanisms underlying co-parenting, this study aims to inform how individual differences in parental attachment and caregiving may shape real-time social interaction in families using an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach.

Individual differences in attachment play an important role in couple dynamics, especially during conflict situations where attachment is known to shape how partners perceive and react to contradictory thoughts and emotions. However, the neurobiological basis of this relational process remains poorly understood.

Interpersonal neural synchrony (INS)—the temporal alignment of brain activity across two people during social interactions—is a novel neurobiological measure that could help answer some of the unresolved questions. Previous research independently showed that INS is increased during problem discussions in couples and that it varies as a function of interaction partners’ attachment, although the latter so far mainly evidenced within parent-child pairs.

This study currently includes 19 heterosexual co-parent couples. Based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, which simultaneously measures both partners’ brain activities, we derive INS in four regions of interest (ROI)—bilateral temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) implicated in emotion regulation and mentalising—during discussion of neutral and negative topics. Attachment is assessed using the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-R) questionnaire, and conflict resolution as dyadic difference and average scores using a post-discussion self-report form. We then test associations between INS, ROI, and couples’ attachment and conflict resolution scores.

Data collection is still ongoing, but preliminary results suggest that INS in the dlPFC is significantly correlated with couples’ average attachment anxiety scores during both discussion conditions. Specifically, we find that higher average attachment anxiety scores are linked to increased INS. A possible explanation for this pattern is that increased INS linked to attachment anxiety might reflect greater dyadic cognitive effort and emotion regulation necessary for sustaining the communication. Our preliminary results therefore suggest that more INS as part of couple interactions may not always be better.

An updated account will be presented at the conference with additional data available by summer 2026.

Attachment representations and parental reflective functioning (PRF; parents’ capacity to understand and reflect on their children’s mental and emotional state) are associated with improved social responsiveness in children. Interpersonal neural synchrony (INS)—the temporal alignment of parent-child brain activity during social interaction—may reflect variation in attachment representations and PRF as it facilitates the understanding and prediction of others’ mental states and behaviour. Accordingly, increased INS during cooperative parent-child gameplay was observed in families with typically developing (TD) children. However, little is known about how attachment and PRF relate to parent-child INS, particularly in families including children with neurodevelopmental conditions linked to differences in the social and communication domains, like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This study explores the association between parental and child attachment representations, PRF, and INS in parent-child dyads including children with or at-risk of receiving an ASD/ADHD diagnosis (compared to TD children). Parent-child dyads (children aged 4-8 years) complete a cooperative Jenga game while their brain activity is recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning from the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) related to emotion regulation and mental state representation, respectively. INS is computed using wavelet transform coherence analysis and behavioural synchrony coded by two independent raters based on video-recordings. Parental attachment is assessed using the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire and parent-reported child attachment using the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory or Attachment Relationship Inventory. The Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire captures PRF.

We expect reduced parent-child INS during cooperation in dyads including a child with ASD or ADHD relative to TD. We will further explore the relationship between parental and child attachment, PRF, and parent-child INS and behavioural synchrony across dyads. Data collection is ongoing and preliminary results will be available at the time of the conference.

Discussion and integration of the presented findings within the theoretical framework of Relational Neuroscience devoted to modelling the interbrain dynamics subserving human connections, spanning from real-time joint experiences to long-term social bonds.