The foundation of this research lies in understanding how early childhood nurturing, or lack thereof, affects the infant brain, particularly the development of the right hemisphere, which is crucial for emotional regulation, social bonding, and empathy. Early childhood nurturing is defined as physical and emotional attunement by the infant’s primary attachment figure, typically the mother, to the infant’s developing physical and emotional needs. These needs begin in utero and develop as the infant is born and raised, and involve caregivers responding consistently and sensitively to soothe and support the growing child.
This section reviews contributions from key researchers in the fields of neurobiology, psychology, and child development, focusing on how maternal nurturing, in particular, influences right-brain development and has lasting implications on child’s ability to form secure attachments, regulate emotions, build healthy social relationships, and experience overall mental and physical wellness across their life.
John Bowlby: Attachment Theory and the Role of Maternal Nurturing
John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory is foundational to understanding the importance of early care in emotional and psychological development. Bowlby proposed that the bond between a child and their primary caregiver, typically the mother, is crucial for the child’s sense of security and emotional well-being. Bowlby argued that secure attachment—formed through consistent, responsive, and nurturing maternal care—allows the infant to develop a healthy emotional regulation system. In contrast, neglect or inconsistent care can lead to insecure attachment patterns, which disrupt the development of the brain’s ability to manage emotions, stress, and social relationships.
Allan Schore: Right-Brain Development and Maternal Attunement
Allan Schore’s research in affective neuroscience builds on Bowlby’s Attachment Theory by providing a neurobiological understanding of how maternal nurturing affects brain development. Schore’s work emphasizes the role of the right hemisphere in emotional processing, stress regulation, and relational attunement, noting that this part of the brain is particularly responsive to early attachment experiences. He suggests that maternal emotional attunement—when the mother is in sync with the child’s physical and emotional needs—facilitates the development of the right brain, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, which plays a key role in emotional regulation.
According to Schore, the first three years of life are a critical window for right-brain development. When maternal care is nurturing and responsive, the neural circuits responsible for emotional regulation and social understanding are strengthened. If this attunement is absent due to maternal neglect or stress, these brain regions may not develop properly, leading to difficulties in emotional self-regulation and forming secure attachments later in life. Paternal and/or familial support is vital in ensuring that the mother can maintain the physical and emotional availability required for this critical developmental process.
Michael Meaney: The Epigenetic Effects of Maternal Care
Michael Meaney’s research on the epigenetic effects of maternal care adds a biological dimension to the understanding of how nurturing influences right-brain development. Meaney’s studies focus on how variations in maternal care, particularly nurturing behaviors such as touch and responsiveness, can alter gene expression related to stress regulation. His research demonstrates that nurturing maternal care enhances the expression of genes that promote the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is central to managing stress.
Meaney’s findings suggest that maternal care has a direct impact on the biological systems that regulate emotional and stress responses. Children who experience nurturing care have a more resilient stress response system and are better equipped to regulate their emotions. In contrast, children who experience neglect or inconsistent care are more vulnerable to stress and may struggle with emotional dysregulation throughout life.
Bruce Perry: The Impact of Early Childhood Trauma and the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
Bruce Perry is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist known for his pioneering research on the effects of trauma and early childhood experiences on brain development. His work primarily focuses on how adverse experiences, particularly during early childhood, shape the brain's structure and function, influencing behavior, emotional regulation, and cognitive abilities later in life.
Perry developed the Neurosequential Model, which maps how different areas of the brain develop sequentially and how trauma can disrupt this development. This model is used to assess and treat children who have experienced trauma by addressing the parts of the brain most affected. The brain's architecture is shaped by experience, and adverse experiences can impair emotional regulation, stress responses, and relational capacities. This can lead to mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and aggression.
Stephen Porges: The Polyvagal Theory and the Role of Nurturing in Safety and Social Engagement
Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory adds a vital dimension to understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of early childhood nurturing. Porges posits that the autonomic nervous system, particularly the vagus nerve, plays a critical role in regulating social engagement, emotional safety, and stress responses. His theory suggests that early nurturing helps establish a sense of safety, which activates the social engagement system governed by the ventral vagal complex. This system is intimately connected to the right brain’s processing of social cues, emotions, and relational attunement. When maternal care is attuned and consistent, it fosters a secure attachment and the development of a well-regulated nervous system. However, in cases of neglect or inconsistent care, the child may remain in a state of hypervigilance (fight-or-flight) or dissociation (freeze), impairing the development of the social engagement system and contributing to emotional dysregulation. Porges’ work underscores that right-brain development is deeply intertwined with the child’s perception of safety and the ability to engage socially and emotionally with caregivers.
Sigmund Freud: Early Childhood Experiences and the Unconscious Mind
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory underscores the profound influence of early childhood experiences on the formation of the unconscious mind, shaping personality and emotional health throughout life. Freud emphasized that the early relationships, particularly with the mother, lay the foundation for emotional regulation and psychological development. He introduced the concept of the “id,” “ego,” and “superego,” where early maternal nurturing helps in the development of the ego, allowing the child to manage instinctual drives and emotions. Freud also suggested that unresolved conflicts from early childhood, especially those related to neglect or insufficient care, can manifest in neuroses, anxiety, and difficulties in forming healthy relationships later in life. His ideas about early emotional conflicts align with modern understandings of how childhood adversity disrupts brain development and emotional regulation.
Carl Jung: The Development of the Self and Archetypal Nurturing
Carl Jung extended Freud’s ideas on early childhood experiences by exploring the role of the “Self” in psychological development and the importance of nurturing in achieving individuation. Jung believed that the early relationship between the mother and child significantly influences the child’s ability to connect with the unconscious and develop a healthy sense of self. He introduced the concept of the “Mother Archetype,” which represents the nurturing figure that helps foster emotional security and psychological growth. Jung argued that when early nurturing is absent or deficient, it can create imbalances in the psyche, leading to emotional fragmentation and difficulties in the process of individuation, where the individual strives to integrate all aspects of the self into a unified whole. In this sense, maternal nurturing is seen as a critical factor in the formation of a well-adjusted, self-aware individual.
Melanie Klein: Object Relations Theory and Maternal Nurturing
Melanie Klein, a pioneering figure in Object Relations Theory, placed significant emphasis on the role of early maternal nurturing in shaping the child’s inner world and psychological development. Klein argued that the infant’s early relationship with the mother—or primary caregiver—forms the foundation for the development of the psyche and the ability to relate to others. According to Klein, the infant's mind is initially structured around the "good breast" and "bad breast," where the mother is experienced as either nurturing and satisfying or frustrating and withholding. This split between positive and negative experiences is central to the development of the child’s internal objects, which are mental representations of significant others.
Klein believed that consistent, nurturing maternal care allows the infant to integrate these early experiences into a cohesive sense of self, enabling emotional regulation and healthy relationships later in life. Conversely, inconsistent or neglectful care can lead to fragmented internal objects, resulting in difficulties with anxiety, trust, and emotional regulation. Klein’s work highlights the importance of a mother’s emotional availability and consistency in fostering the child’s capacity for love, empathy, and a stable internal world. This maternal nurturing is seen as essential for the child’s psychological resilience and ability to navigate interpersonal relationships as they grow.
Erica Komisar: The Importance of Maternal Presence in Early Childhood
Erica Komisar, in her book “Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters”, emphasizes the importance of a mother’s physical and emotional presence during the first three years of a child’s life for optimal right-brain development, which is 85% complete by the age of three. Komisar argues that consistent maternal nurturing fosters emotional resilience, empathy, and the ability to form secure attachments—qualities closely tied to right-brain functions. She stresses that the presence of the mother, supported by paternal involvement, is crucial for helping the child feel safe and secure.
Komisar’s work highlights the detrimental effects of maternal absence or emotional neglect, which can result in children developing emotional dysregulation, attachment disorders, and narcissistic tendencies. Paternal support in this context is not only beneficial for the child but also helps the mother maintain the emotional attunement needed to foster the child’s right-brain development.
Jean Liedloff: The Continuum Concept and the Need for Constant Nurturing
Jean Liedloff, in her seminal work “The Continuum Concept”, presents a radical view on early childhood nurturing, shaped by her experiences with the indigenous Yequana people of the Amazon. Liedloff argues that human infants are biologically predisposed to expect continuous, responsive care from birth, particularly in the form of constant physical contact, emotional attunement, and presence. According to Liedloff, modern Western child-rearing practices often deviate from this innate expectation, resulting in emotional and psychological distress in children.
Through her observations, Liedloff noted that Yequana infants, who were carried and kept close to their caregivers throughout infancy, exhibited remarkable emotional stability, independence, and social cohesion as they grew. These children rarely cried and appeared to seamlessly integrate into the social fabric of their community. Liedloff attributed this to the "continuum"—the natural, uninterrupted nurturing process that aligns with the infant’s biological needs. She argued that the absence of this constant, responsive care in Western cultures leads to feelings of insecurity, emotional dysregulation, and detachment.
Conclusion
The body of research reviewed in this section emphasizes the critical role of early nurturing, particularly maternal care, in shaping the development of the right brain, which governs emotional regulation, stress responses, social engagement, and relational understanding. Deficits in early nurturing can lead to long-lasting challenges in emotional regulation, attachment, and social engagement, often linked to conditions such as narcissism and other relational disorders.