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Initial Lessons in Socialization
The earliest regulation of emotion in the brain first occurs during
the mother-infant mutual gaze dialogues. The regulation and organization 
of emotional perceptions continue to develop through the ongoing interaction
with its mother or primary caregiver.3 Research has shown that
a mother who is pleasantly responsive to the infant through early eye contact
is stimulating positive social learning. In contrast, a mother who is not
responsive to that early eye contact isn't providing a positive social
learning experience, hindering the human attachment process, which is critical
to healthy emotional growth.
Similar social learning opportunities occur when an infant attempts to communicate
through its cries. Crying may be spurred because the infant is hungry, in pain, uncomfortable or frightened.
Often upon waking, an infant will begin to signal to its caregiver with soft whimpering, which eventually
accelerates into frantic crying if it receives no response. Sometimes crying is misconstrued as an idealized expression of anger or manipulation. Yet, crying in a young infant might better be described
as a fear response. A fear invoked by the uncomfortable
feeling of being soiled, the rumbling of hunger pains, or the vulnerableness of being alone in the dark. Fear of predators
and death is an emotion deeply seated within our evolutionary biological
makeup. In our earliest days, families and tribes huddled closely together
in the dark to help soothe this fear. The idea of "safety in numbers" held
true, because a group of humans would fair better warding off predators
as a group than one sole individual would.
Today, we may know that an infant is safe alone in its crib,
yet the biology of an infant's brain is initially encoded with those innate
fears, which are easily prompted often in early life.
When the infant is in a state of helpless fear and panic the amygdala
kicks in and sends messages to the brain to prepare the body for "flight
or fight." An infant can neither fight nor flee. If the panic isn't subdued
by intervention from a nurturing adult, the flood of chemicals and hormones
may rage through the brain, specifically targeting the amygdala and hippocamus,
for an unhealthy length of time. Crying infants who are unattended have
been known to cry desperately for an hour or more until the amygdala eventually
shuts down. The infant in turn, learns after repeated episodes that it
can not expect comfort and response to its cries, and it may decide its
needs are unworthy of attention and nurturing--a decision which may ultimately
affect the infant's development self-worth.
Even though the brain may eventually determine it is not in any danger
on its own, vital opportunities to develop and reinforce social lessons
in trust, security and empathy may be missed if no attempt is made by a nurturing caregiver to calm that state of emotional
turmoil.
Who gets up in your house during the night to tend baby?
Infant Sleeping
Early Brain Trauma and Emotional Development
Back to Part I
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