Abstract
Romantic attachment rejection (RAR) is a highly prevalent phenomenon among young adults. Rejection by a romantic attachment figure can be a painful and incapacitating experience with lasting negative mental health sequelae, yet the underlying neurobiology of RAR is not well characterized. We systematically reviewed functional neuroimaging studies of adult RAR. Four functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that measured participants’ responses to real or imagined RAR and met inclusion criteria were evaluated. These included studies were published between 2004 and 2018. Brain activity in adult participants with an RAR appears to be influenced by the stimulus used to elicit a reaction as well as by attachment styles. Brain regions that show a significant change in activation following a rejection stimulus include cortical regions (cingulate, insular, orbitofrontal, and prefrontal), and subcortical regions (angular gyrus, hippocampus, striatum, tegmental area, and temporal pole) and correspond to (i) pain, distress, and memory retrieval; (ii) reward, romantic love, and dopaminergic circuits; and (iii) emotion regulation and behavioural adaptation. Further neuroimaging studies of adult RAR, as moderated by stimulus and attachment style, are needed to better understand the underlying neurobiology of RAR.
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Various combinations of keywords were tested prior to conducting the search. Surprisingly, the more keywords were added (for example, adding ‘OR sMRI OR DTI OR structural brain imaging OR functional brain imaging OR diffusion tensor imaging OR SPECT or Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography OR PET OR Positron Emission Tomography’) the less hits were generated (for example, 562 hits instead of 1535 from the PubMed data base).
The authors did not differentiate between bi- and homosexual participants.
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This research is supported by the South African Research Chair in PTSD (SARChI UID 64811) hosted by the Stellenbosch University, funded by the DST and administered by the NRF. Additionally, the first author was awarded the NRF Thuthuka Grant (No. 121995) in support of her PhD Research.
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AvdW was involved in all aspects of the review. GS assisted with screening, data extraction, and provided input in the final draft. EL, AR, and SS provided input on all drafts and the final manuscript and serve as supervisors to the PhD of AvdW.
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van der Watt, A.S.J., Spies, G., Roos, A. et al. Functional Neuroimaging of Adult-to-Adult Romantic Attachment Separation, Rejection, and Loss: A Systematic Review. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 28, 637–648 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-020-09757-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-020-09757-x