Keynote I, 09:15 – 10:15
Dr Trinh Nguyen (Instituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; Website)

Visualizing the invisible tie: Linking parent-child neural synchronization to interaction and relationship quality
Early social interactions are vital for children’s socio-cognitive and affective development. In these early interactions, caregivers use communicative rhythms to facilitate the mutual prediction of actions and intentions, resulting in interpersonal synchrony. This interaction pattern is suggested to become internalized in individual generative models, facilitating the attachment between child and caregiver. Beyond interpersonal synchrony on the behavioral level, neural and physiological synchrony have been shown to emerge in live and dynamic social interactions. I will present recent evidence that these neurobiological underpinnings of live social interactions are related to parent-child interaction and relationship quality. Finally, I will outline the potential implications of this work for future research on the social neuroscience of attachment.

Keynote II, 10:15 – 11:15
Dr Giacomo Novembre (Instituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; Website)

Inter-brain synchrony & social behaviour: correlation or causation?
The simultaneous recording from multiple brains – that is hyperscanning – has led to many reports of inter-brain synchrony among socially interacting individuals. Such states of synchrony appear to facilitate social behaviors such as inter‐personal coordination, cooperation and communication. Can we think of inter-brain synchrony as a mechanism that causally facilitates social interaction? This question cannot be answered by simply recording from multiple brains (hyperscanning). It instead requires causal protocols entailing their simultaneous stimulation (multiperson brain stimulation). I will highlight recent findings and future horizons of this nascent field.

Keynote III, 12:45 – 13:45
Prof Jens Pruessner (University of Konstanz, Germany; Website)

Species and inter-species synchronisation of heart-rate variability in real-life settings
The parasympathetic influence on heart rate variability (hrv) is dominantly mediated by the vagus nerve, which connects the frontal lobe with visceral organs bidirectionally, and is at the core of several prominent theories (somatic marker, polyvagal, neurovisceral integration). Within synchronisation research, the heart is frequently investigated in various dyads for its possible link to aspects of relationship strength, likeability, and bonding. In three different studies, we investigated the strength of hrv synchronisation in dyads within species (speed dating, blitz chess) and inter species (horse assisted therapy) and its relationship to situational aspects and outcomes. In all studies, we found evidence for the impact of hrv synchronisation being associated with situational aspects, or outcome. In speed dating, the degree of hrv synchronisation was significantly associated with dating success. In a blitz chess tournament, anti-phase synchronisation predicted the outcome of the individual match. And in horse-assisted therapy, inter-species (horse-patient) synchronisation was associated with symptom severity in patients. Together, these findings point to an important role of synchronisation in real-life settings which warrants further investigation.

Short (Remote) Oral Presentation 01
Tuğba Naz Ayyıldız¹ & Gizem Erdem^1
1 Koç University, Turkey

The Associations Among Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation, Attachment Orientations, and Relationship Outcomes
The transition to marriage is an important attachment-related life event and a stressor for romantic couples. During the first years of marriage, it is especially crucial that spouses can regulate their own difficult emotions and of their partner and be able to approach their partner in times of need for relationship satisfaction and maintenance. The current study investigated whether the relationship between attachment orientations and relationship outcomes (i.e., relationship satisfaction and attachment behaviors) is mediated by difficulties in intrapersonal emotion regulation (DER) and interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) use. A cross-sectional design was used with a sample of 376 newlyweds (married at least for a year, maximum of 5 years) from Turkey. Structural Equation Modeling analysis showed that both attachment anxiety and avoidance were negatively associated with relationship satisfaction (-.14 and -.73, respectively, at p < .001). Attachment avoidance was also negatively associated with attachment behaviors (-.75, p < .001). DER was positively associated with attachment anxiety (.44, p < .001) and attachment avoidance (.16, p < .01). IER was only significantly positively associated with attachment anxiety (.30, p < .001). Neither IER nor DER mediated the relationship between attachment orientations and relationship outcomes. Attachment avoidance’s strong impact on relationship outcomes is discussed in the context of a dominantly collectivistic culture.

Short (Remote) Oral Presentation 02
Kate Turner¹, Ryan Stevenson¹ & Bobby Stojanoski^1,2
1 Ontario Technical University, Canada
² Ontario Western University, Canada

Using Interbrain Synchrony to Investigate Social Differences Associated with Autistic Traits
One characteristic of autism is difficulty with social interactions. The Double Empathy Problem argues that autistic social difficulties are due to a difference in communication styles rather than an autistic deficit. We used fNIRS hyperscanning to examine neural synchrony in pairs with varying levels of autistic traits during social interactions to determine whether the Double Empathy Problem is supported by neurological responses. Participants had high (H) or low (L) autistic traits, creating H-H, H-L, and L-L pairs. Pairs completed two trials during the experiment with two conditions in each trial. In each trial, participants listened to and discussed a story. Brain activity was recorded from the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Functional connectivity measures were used to examine synchrony patterns within groups for the four conditions. Preliminary data (N=12) showed that all groups had significant synchrony in PFC and TPJ (p < .05). Patterns of synchrony varied depending on theory of mind elements in a story. Different patterns emerged based on the level of autistic traits in the interacting pairs. Conversation produced a pattern of synchrony distinct from that of narrative listening. These results indicate differing neural mechanisms between low and high trait groups. Data collection is ongoing.

Short (In-Person) Oral Presentation 03
Alessandro Carollo¹, Mengyu Lim², Andrea Bizzego¹ & Gianluca Esposito^1
1 University or Trento, Italy
² Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Investigating role-playing at the neural level: a fNIRS hyperscanning study
Role-play and group dynamics are used in many therapeutic settings to work on personal and interpersonal questions. Although these techniques reportedly have beneficial outcomes, their mechanisms of action are still unexplored. In the current work, we investigate the neural underpinnings of role-playing by means of a functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning paradigm. A total of 78 Italian young adults enrolled in the experiment. Participants were divided into dyads of friends matched by gender. Neural activity was assessed throughout the whole experiment, in which all dyads engaged in a 5-min natural conversation, in a 5-min role-play and in a 5-min role-reversal. Brain-to-brain synchrony and its relation to the task and to the reported levels of psychological constructs(e.g., self-esteem, personality traits, empathy, anxiety) will be discussed.

Short (Remote) Oral Presentation 04
Edyta Swider-Cios¹, Elise Turk¹, Jonathan Levy^2,3, Marjorie Beeghly⁴ , Jean Vroomen¹, Marion I van den Heuvel^1
1 Tilburg University, The Netherlands
² Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Herzliya, Israel
³ Aalto University, Finland
⁴ Wayne State University, Detroit, USA

The impact of maternal anxiety on dyadic frontal alpha asymmetry in the smartphone-adapted still face paradigm: The Brains in Sync Study
Mother-infant interactions form a strong basis for emotion regulation development in infants. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) is a physiological correlate of emotion regulation and a potential marker of risk for psychopathology. FAA can be affected by various factors, including maternal behavior and anxiety. A recent development in electroencephalography (EEG), called hyperscanning, allows for simultaneous assessment of FAA in mother-infant dyads during stressful events, such as the Still-Face Paradigm (SFP). This study aimed at identifying neural correlates of mother-child interactions in the context of maternal postnatal anxiety. Dyadic EEG data were collected from 38 mother-infant dyads. Dyadic FAA was measured during a smartphone-adapted SFP. While the behavioral data showed a clear still-face effect for the smartphone-adapted SFP, this was not reflected in infant or maternal FAA. The neural data did show several infant brain-to-behavior associations. Additionally, we found that mothers with higher postnatal anxiety showed more right frontal alpha asymmetry during the first still-face episode, suggesting negative affectivity and a need to withdraw from the situation. Our results contribute to research on understanding the neural and behavioral processes that happen during mother-infant social exchange.

Short (Remote) Oral Presentation 05
Lianne P Hulsbosch^1,2,3, Eva S Potharst^4,5, Myrthe GBM Boekhorst², Marion I van den Heuvel^1
1 Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
² Center of Research in Psychological and Somatic Disorders, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
³ Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
⁴ UvA Minds, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
⁵ Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Mother-infant Bonding in the Brain: Promoting Maternal Mental Health and High-quality Mother-infant Interactions Via a Mindfulness-based Intervention
Poor maternal mental health can negatively affect the mother-infant interaction, which can lead to poorer infant developmental outcomes. The “Mindful with your Baby” intervention may effectively improve maternal mental health. The current study examines the effectiveness of a group-based “Mindful with your Baby” intervention. It is hypothesized that this intervention will reduce levels of postpartum depression, anxiety and parental stress, and improve mother-infant behavioral interaction and increase neural synchrony between mother and infant brains.
We will screen mothers (N=64) for elevated postpartum depression, anxiety and/or parental stress levels at 8-10 weeks postpartum. Included mothers will be randomized into an intervention group or waitlist-control group. The intervention group will receive an 8-week group-based “Mindful with your Baby” therapist-guided intervention via a video-conferencing tool. The waitlist-control group will receive an 8-week self-guided online “Mindful with your Baby” intervention after a 10-week waiting period. Primary outcomes are improvements in postpartum depression, anxiety and parental stress scores at post-intervention and improvements in mother-infant bonding and neural synchrony, assessed with video coding in mother-infant interactions and dual-EEG, respectively. Secondary outcomes include change in mindfulness skills, self-compassion, self-reported bonding, infant temperament, mindful parenting, parenting self-efficacy, and personal goal at post-intervention.
First results are expected in 2024.

Poster 01
Laura Carnevali¹, Irene Valori^1,2, Giorgia Mason¹, Gianmarco Altoè¹ & Teresa Farroni^1
1 University of Padova, Italy
² Technische Universität Dresden, Germany

Do we really know anything about interpersonal motor synchrony in Autism? A systematic review and meta- analysis
Interpersonal motor synchrony (IMS), defined as the coordination of movements between interacting partners, constitutes a social glue that shapes social exchanges throughout the life cycle. Acting in synchrony with others contributes to social connection and improves communication exchanges. Crucially, it interplays with intra- and inter-individual characteristics that may diverge in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), whereby socio-communicative atypicalities are often observed. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarise and quantify the evidence about reduced IMS in dyads including at least one participant with ASD. Twelve experimental studies (N=463 participants) were selected and objective measures of IMS with an in situ neurotypical partner were retrieved for ASD and control groups. Results indicated that both small and large effect sizes (i.e., Hedge’s g) could be consistent with the data. High uncertainty on the true effect size suggests that different factors might contribute to the misattunement observed in neurodevelopmentally heterogeneous dyads. We argue that sharing similar experiences of the world might help to synchronise with one another. Thus, future studies should not only assess whether reduced IMS is consistently observed in ASD-TD dyads and how this shapes social exchanges, but also whether and how ASD-ASD dyads synchronise during interpersonal exchanges.

Poster 02 (remote)
Vera Mateus¹, Ana Ganho-Ávila¹, Mónica Sobral¹, Sara Cruz², & Ana Osório^3
1 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal
² University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
³ Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil

The SocialBabyBrain Study Protocol: Neural Correlates of Joint Attention and its Relation to Social-communicative Abilities
Imaging literature on the neural substrates of joint attention points to the involvement of several key nodes of the brain related to the processing of social stimuli. However, previous studies either focused on a specific brain region, had only one assessment timepoint, or did not include behavioral measures of joint attention. We present the SocialBabyBrain project, which aims at examining the relationships between behavioral manifestations of joint attention in early infancy and the maturation of specific brain networks, and also how changes in brain activation in these key regions over time might explain individual differences in later social competence. Participants will be healthy, full-term typically developing infants (assessed at 10, 13 and 24 months) and their mothers.
With this project we expect to increase fundamental knowledge on the dynamic interplay between brain functional maturation and behavioral manifestations of joint attention, as a foundational basis for subsequent language and social competence abilities, and to identify typical neural signatures of joint attention that might assist the early screening of neurodevelopmental disorders. Additionally, findings of this project can also contribute to the design of early interventions targeting parent-infant interactions, the most important context to promote infant development in the first years of life.

Poster 03
Diana Costa^1,2, Inês Rodrigues^1,2, João Pereira^1,2, Bruno Direito^1,2,3, Marco Simões1^,2,4, Teresa Sousa^1,2, Miguel Castelo-Branco^1,2,5
1 Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Portugal
² Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Portugal
³ Instituto do Ambiente, Tecnologia e Vida (IATV), Coimbra, Portugal
⁴ Centre for Informatics and Systems (CISUC), Coimbra, Portugal
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal

An EEG-fNIRS multimodal approach to map the neural correlates of empathy and attachment relationships based on interbrain synchrony
According to attachment theory, healthy social and emotional development is grounded on attachment security, which is believed to be a key predictor of empathy. Nevertheless, the neural underpinnings of this relationship are still unclear. In this study, we propose a multimodal hyperscanning approach to probe the neural mechanisms underlying empathy. We follow the hypothesis that increased empathy-related neural processes are related to interbrain synchrony. Based on both pairs of twins and non-twin siblings we study the brain synchrony of pairs of healthy subjects (siblings or strangers) while visualizing and imagining joint affective facial expressions. Using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) acquisition, we will be able to investigate with improved spatiotemporal resolution two processes that are believed to be crucial to test whether interbrain synchrony modulation by empathy is predicted by attachment. We target the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) brain area, which is known to modulate emotional expression recognition and theory of mind and to be functionally compromised in several disorders with altered social abilities. Neuronal data correlation to the empathy-attachment relationship is evaluated in light of psychological instruments such as the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Adult Attachment Scale-R (EVA).

Poster 04
Inês Rodrigues^1,2, Diana Costa^1,2, João Pereira^1,2, Bruno Direito^1,2,3, Marco Simões^1,2,4, Pascal Vrticka⁵, Teresa Sousa^1,2, Miguel Castelo-Branco^1,2,6
1 Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Portugal
² Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Portugal
³ Instituto do Ambiente, Tecnologia e Vida (IATV), Portugal
⁴ Center for Informatics and Systems (CISUC), University of Coimbra, Portugal
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Essex, United Kingdom
⁶ Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal

Exploring interbrain synchrony for shared emotional experiences in mother-child dyads: an fNIRS approach
This study uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure interbrain synchrony (IBS) by applying wavelet transform coherence (WTC). Brain activity is measured over the right prefrontal cortex (PFC) and temporal parietal junction (TPJ) in mother-child dyads during shared emotional experiences, and IBS subsequently related to attachment. Our hypothesis is that IBS is associated with emotional sharing. We designed two tasks targeting positive, negative, and neutral situations, where participants imagine being alone or facing the context together. The first task measures IBS when the emotional situation only directly targets the child, while the second task measures IBS when both, child and parent, are joint targets. Preliminary results based on pilot data revealed that IBS in PFC and TPJ differs when participants are imagining being together, compared to being alone, during both tasks. These results suggest that imagery can be used to study the link between attachment and ER through IBS, thus validating our approach.

Poster 05
Carolina Villegas Maritnez¹, Tanzer M¹, Koukoutsakis A¹, Fotopoulou A^1
1 University College London, United Kingdom

Development and Validation of the Parental Interoception Questionnaire (PIQ)
Neuroscientific and psychological theory suggests that the parent-child relationship is relevant for the development of interoceptive and self-regulating abilities. To provide empirical evidence, a measure of parental interoception is needed, thus, our aim was to develop and validate a questionnaire that measures parents’ confidence in their ability to detect and regulate their child’s internal bodily signals and states. Methods: items were generated after a review of relevant constructs and measures. Content validity, item reduction and factor analyses were carried out on a first sample. Construct validity and test-retest reliability is being assessed with a second sample. Results: the first draft consisted of 72 items and 10 subscales. Expert ratings were low (CVR<0.62) for 30 items, qualitative feedback revealed the themes: subscale definitions, jargon, adding examples. Field tests showed overall high scores for relatedness (8.32/10) and importance (8.62/10). After modifications, 49 items and 9 subscales were left. Item reduction and exploratory factor analyses suggested a 5-factor structure (TLI=0.831, RMSEA=0.094, BIC=-224.6) and a final number of 20 items. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit (CFI=0.924, TLI=0.91, RMSEA=0.055). Discussion: though analyses are ongoing, and considering limitations of self-report measures, we hope the questionnaire becomes a useful tool for research on parental interoception.

Poster 06
Sarah Boukarras^1,2, Valerio Placidi^1,3,4 , Federico Rossano^1,3, Vanessa Era^1,2, Matteo Candidi^1,2
1 Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
² IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
³ Sapienza University of Rome and CLN 2 S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
⁴ International School of Advanced Studies, Department of Experimental Medicine and Public Health, University of Camerino, Italy

On the emergence of physiological synchrony during joint action: the role of task-related motor parameters and individual dispositions
The temporal alignment of physiological states among individuals engaged in social encounters has been repeatedly observed over a variety of tasks and interaction types. However, the contribution of contextual and dispositional factors to the occurrence of physiological synchrony is somehow understudied. Specifically, it is unclear to what extent heart rate synchrony is related to movement synchrony during joint actions and what is the role played by individual differences in personality
traits. We recorded the heart rate of forty same-gender dyads engaged in a joint action task requiring to grasp as synchronously as possible two bottle-shaped objects either in a “free” condition, where both participants shared the same amount of information, or in a “leader-follower” mode. From the task, we extracted several motor parameters, while dyadic personality traits were quantified by averaging the two members’ scores at self-report questionnaires. Preliminary results suggest that dyads who were more synchronous in starting their movement together also aligned more at the physiological level. In addition, we observed that dyad-level empathic traits were related to both physiological synchrony and to the tendency to start moving together. Overall, our data indicate that individual dispositions might promote physiological alignment during joint action by influencing task-related motor features.

Poster 07
Federico Rossano^1,3, Boukarras Sarah^1,2, Placidi Valerio^1,3,4, Era Vanessa^1,2, Candidi Matteo^1,2
1 Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
² IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
³ Sapienza University of Rome and CLN 2 S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
⁴ International School of Advanced Studies, Department of Experimental Medicine and Public Health, University of Camerino, Italy

Systematic Comparison between ARIMA Modeling and Windowed Cross-Correlation Methods for Physiological Synchrony Studies
The synchronization of heart rate dynamics during social interactions, named physiological synchrony, has received increasing interest as a potential biomarker of interpersonal alignment, co-regulation and reciprocal understanding. However, integrating the plethora of existing studies into a single account might be made difficult by the high variability of methods used to compute synchrony and by the lack of a systematic comparison between them.
In the present study, we recorded the cardiac activity of forty dyads engaged in a joint action task. We computed the cross-correlation of the two members’ inter-beat intervals (IBI) time series using two different approaches. First, for each dyad member’s IBI series, an automated algorithm selected the best autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, extracted the residuals, and calculated the cross-correlation between them. The windowed cross-correlation (WCC) approach instead involved segmenting the IBI series into smaller overlapping windows and calculating the cross-correlation function over each segment.
We will present a systematic comparison of results in terms of range and distribution of the cross-correlation coefficients, comparing the two methods’ ability to discriminate between conditions and between real and surrogate dyads.
Our results may guide future researchers in choosing between one or the other method to quantify physiological synchrony.

Poster 08
Emanuela Yeung¹, Dimitris Askitis¹, Victoria Southgate^1
1 University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Caregiver and infant synchrony and the development of the social mind
This project aims to develop a new way to quantify naturally occurring mother-infant synchrony in the first and second year of life, providing the first such ‘in the wild’ dataset, and aims to use these tools to test a novel hypothesis about the relationship between synchrony, early social cognitive development, and development of the self. Eleven-month-old infants and their mothers will wear a lightweight, unobtrusive accelerometer ‘in the wild’ for 5 days, and neuroimaging (fNIRS) and behavioural data measuring interpersonal synchrony will be gathered in the lab. We will then test the hypothesis that in blurring the boundary between self and other, interpersonal synchrony contributes to a protracted period during which infants’ attention is largely other-oriented or altercentric. This project will begin in summer 2023 – we hope to present our plans for the study at this workshop so we can solicit expert feedback while still in the planning phase.

Poster 09
Suppiger Deborah¹, Sabino Guglielmini², Tilman Reinelt¹, Martin Wolf², Giancarlo Natalucci^1
1 Larsson-Rosenquist Center for Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition of the Newborn, Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
² Department of Neonatology, Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory, University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland

Effects of breastfeeding duration on mother-child neural synchrony
Background: Breastfeeding duration has been positively linked to child cognitive development. However, little is known about the specific mechanisms that explain this association. Human milk nutrients (e.g. LCPUFA) and bioactive compounds (e.g., growth factors) are involved in neurodevelopment and with this promotes child cognition. Aside from this, breastfeeding may also promote child cognition through strengthening mother-child attachment. Breastfeeding duration has been related to more secure attachment of the infant and increased maternal sensitivity, which both have been associated with child cognition.
Method: 250 mother-infant dyads are selected with regard to uniform distribution of breastfeeding duration and maternal educational level. Infant age is between 6;2 and 7;2 months. Mother and infant will perform a free-play interaction task. During this fNIRS hyperscanning and physiological measures (ECG, skin conductance, PETCO2) will be investigated. The interaction task will be video recorded and rated for behavioral synchrony (e.g., joint attention). Two additional fNIRS tasks with focus on child memory performance and maternal attachment will be performed with individual fNIRS measurements.
Planned Analysis: Neural synchrony between mother and child will be related to behavioral synchrony, other measures of maternal attachment (i.e., questionnaire, attachment-task), breastfeeding duration and cognitive development (Bayley-III).

Poster 10
Noemi Grinspun^1,2 Eden Landesman¹ & Tal-Chen Rabinowitch^1
1 The School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Israel
² Núcleo de Bienestar y Desarrollo Humano (NUBIDEH), Centro de Investigación en Educación (CIE-UMCE), Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Santiago, Chile

Interpersonal synchrony and we-agency as a facilitator of the mother-child bond
Musical interactions between caregivers and infants are typically multimodal. Caregivers worldwide sing to infants while bouncing them to the beat of the music. Previous research has shown that even synchronous movement by itself may produce a positive change in bonding and in closeness between children.
We agency occurs when individuals work together towards a common goal, and it depends on how accurate our capacity is in making joint predictions. For dancing or playing music in synchrony is necessary to predict what will come next. When mothers and children dance or play music together, they synchronize their movements and work together to create a shared experience, which can facilitate their bonding.
Our objective was to determine whether interpersonal synchrony might generate an improved bonding between mothers and their preschool child and whether this effect could be mediated by an enhancement of the dyad’s we-agency. Mothers and their 4-5-year-old child were invited to participate. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention (music) or a control (reading)group. We evaluated interpersonal synchrony, we-agency, and bonding for each dyad, before and after the intervention. The duration of intervention lasted eight weeks. The study and analyses are ongoing. Final results are expected in May 2023.

Poster 11
Bernadette Denk^1,2 Maria Meier^1,3, Julian Packheiser⁴, Sebastian Ocklenburg⁵, Stephanie J. Dimitroff¹, Elea S.C. Klink¹, Jens C. Pruessner^1,2
1 University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
² Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Konstanz, Germany
³ Universitäre Psychiatrische Kliniken (UPK) Basel, Switzerland
⁴ Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
⁵ MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Is heart rate synchrony in romantic couples related to adult attachment style and acute stress?
Heart rate synchrony (HRS) in romantic couples depends on various trait and situational factors. Here, we investigate whether being exposed to acute stress influences HRS between partners. As adult attachment style (AAS) has been shown to influence physiological stress responses as well as relationship dynamics in general, we hypothesize that there is an interaction between AAS and stressor exposure to predict HRS in romantic couples. To test these hypotheses, we collected data from 150 participants (75 couples; mean age=22.69 (SD=2.97), 52% female). Partners were separated upon arrival at the lab. For half (N=38) of the couples, one partner underwent a stress induction while the other partner underwent a nonstressful control task. For the other half of our sample, both partners completed the control task. Afterwards, partners were re-united and completed a silent synchronization task, where they were instructed to empathize with the other person. Heart rate measurements were obtained throughout using Polar(tm) sensor based electrocardiogram. We calculated HRS between partners using cross-wavelet power and coherence. AAS was assessed using the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire. Results will be presented at the conference. The findings will allow insights into how traits and experiences in close relationships shape inter-personal interactions.

Poster 12
Maria Meier^1,2 Bernadette Denk^1,3, Julian Packheiser⁴, Stephanie J. Dimitroff¹, Elea S.C. Klink¹, Sebastian Ocklenburg⁵, Jens C. Pruessner^1,2
1 University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
² Universitäre Psychiatrische Kliniken (UPK) Basel, Switzerland
³ Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Konstanz, Germany
⁴ Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
⁵ MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Honey don’t stress me out! Cortisol stress resonance in romantic couples and its relation to relationship satisfaction and dyadic coping style
Stress has an immediate impact on physiology and behavior. These changes likely impact our interactions with others, e.g., romantic partner(s), who might in turn be inflicted by the stress. To date, modulating factors and consequences of this stress resonance are poorly understood. In this project, we thus investigated how relationship satisfaction and dyadic coping influence stress resonance in romantic couples.
Overall, N=75 couples (150 individuals, age mean=22.69, SD=2.97; 52% female) participated in the study. Partners were separated upon arrival, and N=38 couples were assigned to the stress condition, in which one individual underwent the socially evaluated cold pressor test, while their partner underwent a non-stressful control task. In the control condition, both partners underwent the control task. Upon reunion, partners completed different synchronization tasks and questionnaires. The dyadic coping inventory was used to measure dyadic coping style, and the relationship assessment scale indexed relationship satisfaction. Saliva samples were collected to capture the cortisol stress response. Effects of relationship satisfaction and dyadic comping style on cortisol stress resonance will be presented and discussed at the conference.
Our findings will deepen our understanding of whether stress spreads among romantic partners, and whether this contagion is dependent on factors related to relationship quality.

Poster 13 (remote)
Eun Jung Choi¹, Margot J Taylor², Marlee M Vandewouw², Soon-Beom Hong³, Chang-Dai Kim³, Soon-Hyung Yi^3
1 University of Western Ontario, Toronto, Canada
² Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
³ Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

Attachment security and striatal functional connectivity in typically developing children
Attachment security is formed through interactions with a main caregiver during the first three years of life and reflects inter-individual differences in mental representations for the relationship. The striatum is known to be a key structure to initiate attachment behaviours and maintain attachment relationships as well as to modulate reward-related processing as part of the approach module in current neurobiological models of human attachment. Although findings have suggested critical roles of the striatum in inter-individual differences in attachment, most studies were based on a wide variety of tasks and very few have investigated these associations in intrinsic brain connectivity in typically developing children. In the present study, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the striatal functional connectivity according to children’s attachment security in 68 nine-year-olds (Secure attachment = 39, Insecure attachment = 29, mean age/SD = 9.62/0.69). Children with secure attachment demonstrated increased functional connectivity in the tempro-limbic region, compared to children with insecure attachment. In addition, the child-reported attachment security scores were negatively associated with the caudate-prefrontal connectivity, but positively with the putamen-visual area connectivity. These data demonstrate that inter-individual differences in attachment can be captured in striatal functional connectivity organization in the typical brain.

Poster 14 (remote)
Dolapo Adegboye^1
1 Kings College London, United Kingdom
The child in the mother’s mind: The relation between mothers’ mental representations and mother-child coregulatory patterns
Early caregiving interactions provide children with their first opportunities to learn how to appropriately express and regulate their emotions. Mental representations of the child, parent, and the parent-child relationship are also said to guide parenting behaviour, yet current evidence is limited by the prevalence of methods that are unable to tap into the co-constructed nature of parent-child exchanges. This study examined associations between maternal mental representations (measured by the Five-Minute Speech Sample) and mother-child coregulation dynamics (i.e., temporal contingencies between mothers’ sensitive and scaffolding behaviours and children’s negative emotion displays) in 90 children (29% girls) aged 4 to 8. Second-by-second time series data obtained during the adapted Lab-TAB “Stranger Approach” task were modelled using multilevel survival analysis. Results revealed that maternal autonomy support predicted decreases in child negative emotion. Higher levels of coherence in maternal mental representations also predicted mothers’ supportive coregulatory behaviour and moderated the relationship between mothers’ use of positive directives and decreases in child negative emotion. These findings illustrate the influence of parenting cognitions on parent-child dynamics, specifically regulatory efforts to reduce negative emotion. They also illustrate how contemporary microanalytic approaches extend our understanding of parent-child interactions to a more bidirectional rhythmic exchange of emotion and behaviour.