ABSTRACT
People suffering from traumatic experience can actually change the connectivity of their brains through bodily-based relational connection. At a basic level, a consistent perception of physical and emotional safety is essential for the optimal development of a child's brain and body. As children grow, their internal patterns of early relationships emerge as states of mind that include sensory, emotional, imaginal, and reflective dynamics in any given moment. Attachment patterns formed in childhood persist with surprising consistency. Through in-depth interviews of participants as they recalled their early experiences with caregivers, Mary Main researched adult attachment states of mind through the Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI). In contrast, emotionally congruent interactions, such as gazing, singing, holding, soothing, and providing vitality affects, can "promote the inter-generational transmission of resilience". Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's capacity to reorganize its 100 billion neurons into new neural networks that have different synaptic connections. The brain changes through two processes: synaptogenesis and myelinogenesis.
