title: Parent-infant synchrony and the construction of shared timing; physiological precursors, developmental outcomes, and risk conditions.
abstract: Synchrony, a construct used across multiple fields to denote the temporal relationship between events, is applied to the study of parent-infant interactions and suggested as a model for intersubjectivity. Three types of timed relationships between the parent and child's affective behavior are assessed: concurrent, sequential, and organized in an ongoing patterned format, and the development of each is charted across the first year. Viewed as a formative experience for the maturation of the social brain, synchrony impacts the development of self-regulation, symbol use, and empathy across childhood and adolescence. Different patterns of synchrony with mother, father, and the family and across cultures describe relationship-specific modes of coordination. The capacity to engage in temporally-matched interactions is based on physiological mechanisms, in particular oscillator systems, such as the biological clock and cardiac pacemaker, and attachment-related hormones, such as oxytocin. Specific patterns of synchrony are described in a range of child-, parent- and context-related risk conditions, pointing to its ecological relevance and usefulness for the study of developmental psychopathology. A perspective that underscores the organization of discrete relational behaviors into emergent patterns and considers time a central parameter of emotion and communication systems may be useful to the study of interpersonal intimacy and its potential for personal transformation across the lifespan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. feldman@mail.biu.ac.il
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feldman
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001683:Biological Clocks; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D003142:Communication; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology