DIR and Brain Development

8/3/2019 DIR and Brain Development

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Developmental Researchand Theory

Underlying DIR:

From Triangle Model to Pyramid



The DIR Pyramid



DIR: Development



Differences

l h



DIR: Relationship



Neural Integration allows:

Regulation of the body via ANS

Regulation of emotions

Emotional attunement

Interpersonal communication – w/ eye contact

Sense of others‟ subjective experiences

Response flexibility

Self-awareness/autobiographical memory

Morality

D in DIR



Lack of NeurologicalIntegration



Lack of NeurologicalIntegration

What’s wrong in children with pervasive developmentaldisorders?

Brain functions are not integrated

Similar to the effects of trauma on brain dev‟t

Limbic system, especially the orbitofrontal cortex,

integrates the functions of the different regions ofthe brain



Neurological Integrationand DIR

Greenspan said, “Always think W-A-A”

(link together or integrate):

Words – Affect - Actions



“Affect” in DIR Theory

Role of affect in DIR:

Emotion appears to influence virtually all neural

circuits and mental processes

Disorganized brain needs integration.

Deep learning or integrated learning, accessible again

in future, in differing contexts

Emotion INTEGRATES the brain



“Affect” in DIR

How does affect integrate?

Overlapping neural circuits in the affect managing

system or limbic system mediate:

-- Emotion

--Self-regulation

--Interpersonal communication



“Affect” in AutismTreatment

Circuits in the limbic system:

--perceive and

--respond to

the internal states of others

Mediate emotion

Generate motivational states



Integration: Limbic System

Emotion

Regulation

Interpersonal

Communication



Affect in DIR

Emotion underlies the process ofmotivation –emotions drive actions (Latin

„motore‟ - to move) Attention to a stimulusappraise/evaluate significance

hedonic tone (good/approach?Bad/avoid?)categorical emotion (fear, joy, shame?)expresssion of emotion

(affect)



Affect in DIR

Affect is the end of a chain of neuromodulatoryprocessing that is important because it:

- Increases the excitability of the neurons- Enhances plasticity,synaptic connections

- Integrates widely across the brain

- Fundamental to integration and self-regulation



Behavioral Disintegrationwithout affect as glue



Hemispheric Integrationand DIR

Right hemisphere provides autonoeticconsciousness and autobiographical memoryretrieval as well as social cognition

Left hemisphere provides the ability to perceiveand comprehend cause-effect or logic

Integration between the hemispheres allows for akey component of healthy functioning: thebuilding of a coherent self-narrative



Hemispheric Integration



Integration, Narratives,and Attachment

Integration makes possible coherentnarratives of self, other, and the world

Key predictor of secure attachment in one‟sfuture offspring to oneself

Hence bi-hemispheric integration allowsinterpersonal integration and thetransmission of attachment patterns



The R in DIR

• The mind regulates the flow of energy and theflow of information

-- within a person

-- between persons

• The brain is constructed by interactions withothers



The R in DIR

Relationships develop the integration of thefunctioning brain and the capacity forflexibility, self-regulation, and flexible self-

regulation

Integration within the brain allows forinterpersonal integration – free, open,collaborative exchange of energy andinformation with another person‟s mind

Integration allows for regularity/predictabilityon one dimension, spontaneity/novelty on the

other dimension in a person, a dyad, a family

t t t



verarc ng trateg es toPromote D in DIR

Responding

Challenging

Expanding

Imagining

Connecting

Attuning



The R in DIR

“As we participate in the „co-construction‟ of each other‟s minds,intimately sculpting the unfolding of

our mutually created life stories, wefind that our most intimate personalprocesses such as self are actuallycreated by our neural machinery thatis, by evolution, designed to be alteredby relationship experiences” (p. 20).

--Daniel Siegel, “An Interpersonal Neurobiology of Psychotherapy”, Healing Trauma, 2003.



Disrupted R

Disrupted attachment causes relationaltrauma and interferes with neural

integration, prevents development ofcoherent narratives to adequatelymanage flow of information and

caregiver decision making (safety vs.exploration, this child vs competingrole demands)

F B d E



From Body to Emotion toSelf – all via Relationship

The core sense of self emerges from bodily experiences(Stern) – how we feel becomes who we feel we are

Then the emotional self emerges from feelings derivedfrom the primary attachment relationship

Schore: “The core of the self lies in patterns of affectregulation”

The representational self is a working model built fromexperiences in relationship. Integrated representations ofourselves and others bring together love and anger,

nuance, complexity

B ildi S lf i



Building a Self viaRelationship

“Growing up with someone who has our mind inmind equips us as „mental agents‟ who candeliberately attempt to make sense of subjectiveexperience, so as to be able to be present for it,rather than feel overwhelmed by or cut off from it.”David Wallin, p. 67

B ildi B i i



Building a Brain viaRelationship

Schore: “The baby‟s brain is not only affected bythese interactions; its growth literally requiresbrain/brain interactions and occurs in the context ofa positive relationship between mother and infant.”

Siegel: “The…development of the brain largelydepends on how [maturation of neurological

system] is shaped by interpersonal experience.” Wallin, p. 69



The R in DIR

Mutually shared affective interactions are the mechanism ofestablishing secure attachment (Siegel)

Affective resonancemaintenance of positive affective statescritical for optimal neurobiological development (Schore, Tronick)

“Countless repetitions of the sequence of attunement, disruption,and repair lead to an affective competence, as the individualinternalizes the affect-managing strategies of the dyad” (Fosha)

This leads to confidence in one‟s own abilities and trust in others‟responsiveness (Tronick)

Success at repair of dyadic disruptionsemotional resilience(Fonagy & Steele et al.)

DIR and Brain Development

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