The Neurobiology of Attachment and Early Personality Organization

: Current advances in the developmental and neurobiological sciences are now
being integrated into complex models of the development of self, and therefore personality. The human brain
growth spurt, which begins in the last quarter of pregnancy and extends into the second year, overlaps the
prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal periods. It also represents the early critical period for the experiencedependent maturation of the right hemisphere, which is dominant for processing socioemotional and bodily
information, stress coping functions, and self-regulation. Interactively regulated psychobiological transactions
between the infant and primary caregiver, embedded in the attachment relationship, are thus essential for the
optimal development of self-regulatory functions and the organization of a personality with resilient coping
functions.