All posts tagged: bonding

Scientists show how common chord progressions unlock social bonding in the brain

Scientists show how common chord progressions unlock social bonding in the brain

Published by José Betancourt

New research provides evidence that listening to familiar and predictable musical chord progressions while making eye contact with another person increases activity in parts of the brain associated with social interaction. This combination of music and eye contact also tends to make people feel more socially connected to each other. These findings were recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience. The authors conducted this study to investigate the exact brain mechanisms that explain why music brings people together. While many people experience a sense of bonding through music, the biological processes behind this feeling remain mostly unmapped. A major motivation was to explore how specific musical elements could eventually be used as medical therapies for conditions related to social isolation. “The question of how and why listening to music enhances social behavior has a long history in neuroscience,” said study author Joy Hirsch, the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson professor of psychiatry, comparative medicine and neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine. Hirsch, who also directs the Brain Function Laboratory and is affiliated with the …

11 Signs You Have A Soul Deep Connection To Someone That Honestly Will Never Go Away

11 Signs You Have A Soul Deep Connection To Someone That Honestly Will Never Go Away

Published by Jenni Sidey

When we feel a connection to someone, it feels like the rarest thing in the world. With people becoming increasingly more isolated, it’s difficult to seek out and find true companionship with another person, whether it’s romantic, platonic or otherwise. But sometimes, when we do find that bond, there are signs you have a soul deep connection to someone that honestly will never go away, and these indicators often present themselves in strange ways. Whether it’s feeling like you’ve known them forever, being in sync with them, or always having them on your mind, when you feel a deep connection to someone else, it puts you through a life-changing transformation of your own. While some people may come and go throughout your life, the impact this person leaves is undeniable and meant to last. Here are 11 signs you have a soul deep connection to someone that honestly will never go away  1. You instantly feel comfortable Gorgev | Shutterstock There likely aren’t many people you feel comfortable around. Outside of family, making bonds with …

What ‘trauma bonding’ really means – and why it’s often misunderstood

What ‘trauma bonding’ really means – and why it’s often misunderstood

Published by Sam Flores

As a young girl, Lilli Correll both loved and feared her mother. In good times, she felt special – her mother affectionately called her Monkey, and they often laughed together. “I was her favourite child,” said Correll, now 55 and living in Austin, Texas. But at other times her mother, who had bipolar disorder, would abruptly turn violent, once throwing Correll against a wall and threatening to murder her, she said. Despite the abuse Correll found herself drawn to her mother, only to be rejected again and again. That dynamic would go on to repeat itself in Correll’s marriage, which was emotionally abusive, she said. It wasn’t until she was in her 40s that she discovered, with the help of therapy, that she had formed a trauma bond with her abusers. Lately the phrase “trauma bond” has been used online to describe the connection that can grow out of sharing a difficult experience with someone. Videos on TikTok refer to “trauma-bonded besties who overshare” and “trauma bonding instead of going to therapy.” But when it …

‘It’s an opportunity for bonding’ – my quest to become a Black dad who can do his daughters’ hair | Black British culture

‘It’s an opportunity for bonding’ – my quest to become a Black dad who can do his daughters’ hair | Black British culture

Published by Sam Flores

In the basement of Larry King’s salon in Marylebone, London, stylist and curly hair advocate Jennie Roberts is giving me a much-needed pep talk. “It’s all about education and making everything simplified,” she says, perhaps sensing my apprehension as I stand uneasily before her with a comb in hand. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. “It’s not a big effort, it is not going to cost a lot of money. Managing curly hair, once you know how, is easy,” Roberts says. “It really is. It’s easier than trying to hide it anyway.” The curly hair in question isn’t mine but that of my two daughters, aged three and four-and-a-half. After months of screaming and unsatisfying results, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn the basics of caring for their hair, which is a combination of my mixed-race afro curls and my wife’s straighter Spanish locks. Roberts, who has styled everyone from Thandiwe Newton to Mel B and now offers courses for handling …

Early father-child bonding predicts lower inflammation in children

Early father-child bonding predicts lower inflammation in children

Published by José Betancourt

A new study suggests that the way a father interacts with his infant can influence the child’s heart and metabolic health years later. Researchers found that fathers who were warm and engaged with their babies established family patterns that correlated with lower inflammation and blood sugar levels in children at age seven. These findings were published recently in the journal Health Psychology. Medical researchers have historically focused on the mother’s role when studying child health outcomes. Many existing studies examine how maternal stress or depression directly impacts a child’s development. Less attention has been paid to how fathers shape the broader family environment. Even fewer studies have looked at how these family dynamics impact physical biomarkers of disease risk in young children. The family systems perspective suggests that a family functions as an interconnected network. Relationships between specific members ripple out to affect everyone else in the household. Alp Aytuglu, a postdoctoral scholar at The Pennsylvania State University, led a team to investigate these connections. They wanted to understand if early interactions could predict physiological …

Research reveals a surprising physiological reaction to viewing social bonding

Research reveals a surprising physiological reaction to viewing social bonding

Published by José Betancourt

A new study suggests that passively observing strangers engage in affectionate social interactions triggers a physiological response often associated with stress or alertness rather than relaxation. Researchers found that viewing images of social bonding caused a reduction in a specific heart rate metric linked to the body’s “rest and digest” system. These findings challenge the assumption that witnessing positive connections between other people automatically induces a sense of safety or physiological calm in the observer. The study was published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science. Human beings have evolved to live in groups. Throughout history, social isolation often reduced the chances of survival in harsh environments. Consequently, the human brain developed mechanisms to encourage the formation of secure relationships. One way scientists measure the body’s physiological state during social engagement is through heart rate variability. The heart does not beat like a perfect metronome. The time interval between individual heartbeats fluctuates slightly in a healthy person. This variation is largely controlled by the autonomic nervous system. This system manages involuntary body functions and has two …