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Relationships and the Neurobiology of Resilience

  • Chapter
Couple Resilience

Abstract

Neuroimaging studies have identified specific brain areas and circuitries involved in resilient responses to stress. Key areas include the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, insula, anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex. After summarizing studies implicating these brain areas, evidence for their plasticity is reviewed. Existing studies suggest that close personal relationships influence resilience-related brain processes, and that mindfulness meditation holds particular promise as an intervention that both strengthens resilience-related brain processes and promotes resilient couple relationships.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The material in this section is gleaned from the comprehensive review of neuroimaging studies of resilience published by van der Werff et al. (2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Couples Research Institute, The Five Hundred Building, 1250 Executive Place, Geneva, IL, 60134, USA

    Brent J. Atkinson Ph.D.

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  1. Brent J. Atkinson Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Brent J. Atkinson Ph.D. .

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  1. Ctr. for Applied Psychol. Study at Northwestern Univ., The Family Institute/, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Karen Skerrett

  2. Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Karen Fergus

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Atkinson, B.J. (2015). Relationships and the Neurobiology of Resilience. In: Skerrett, K., Fergus, K. (eds) Couple Resilience. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9909-6_6

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