title: Calming cycle theory: the role of visceral/autonomic learning in early mother and infant/child behaviour and development.
abstract: Results from a randomised controlled trial of Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) showed significantly improved maternal behaviours and infant neurodevelopment and behaviour through 18 months, including a significantly reduced risk for autism. Preliminary results from a pilot study of FNI in preschool children found significant reduction in adverse behaviour.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Calming cycle theory proposes that early emotional behaviour is shaped by subcortical visceral/autonomic co-conditioning between mother and infant. Two new constructs, emotional connection and visceral/autonomic co-regulation, are defined within a functional Pavlovian conditioning framework and are theorised to be part of an evolutionarily conserved mammalian phenomenon first identified by Pavlov.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. mgw13@columbia.edu.|Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. mgw13@columbia.edu.|Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. mgw13@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Martha G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Welch
mesh_terms: D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D033261:Maternal-Fetal Relations / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009519:New York City; D009769:Object Attachment; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
keywords: Attachment and bonding; Co-regulation; Emotion regulation; Emotional connection; Functional Pavlovian conditioning