{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T16:05:36Z","timestamp":1774541136887,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":67,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774483200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: This article is a narrative review that examines the development of attachment from intrauterine life to the first thousand days of a child\u2019s life, integrating psychoanalytic, neuroscientific, genetic, and cross-cultural perspectives. Biological, relational, neurological, and cultural factors interact and shape individual differences in socio-emotional functioning. This paper aims to propose a reinterpretation of early attachment, describing it as both a clinical and relational phenomenon and an adaptive process inscribed in human evolutionary history, according to the Four-Domain Integrative Framework described herein. Methods: The review examined three main areas of evidence: early attachment characteristics, cross-cultural caregiving variations, and genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying environmental sensitivity. Results: The review first identified seven characteristics of early attachment (proximity seeking, emotional attunement, intrauterine experiences, maternal holding, security patterns, brain plasticity, and maternal stress) which represent developmental mechanisms that generate individual differences in trust, self-regulation, resilience, and psychopathological vulnerability. Second, cross-cultural variations in six distinct caregiving contexts were examined, demonstrating that secure attachment emerges through culturally specific pathways, differentially influencing motor development, sleep patterns, hypothalamic\u2013pituitary\u2013adrenal axis maturation, and social skills. Finally, the differential susceptibility model was provided through the analysis of five genetic and epigenetic systems (oxytocin receptor gene, serotonin transporter gene, dopamine receptor gene, glucocorticoid receptor methylation, and fetal programming) that modulate environmental sensitivity. Conclusions: Biological, relational, neurological, and cultural factors interact and shape individual differences in socio-emotional functioning.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci16040355","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T15:10:24Z","timestamp":1774537824000},"page":"355","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Early Emotional Bond: An Evolutionary-Developmental Perspective Integrating Psychoanalysis, Neuroscience, and Cross-Cultural Evidence"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Maria","family":"Cafaro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Italian Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Children, Adolescents, and Families (AIPPI), 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Ambrosecchia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Italian Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Children, Adolescents, and Families (AIPPI), 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2889-9292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valeria","family":"Cioffi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SiPGI\u2013Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-0156-8692","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enrica","family":"Tortora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SiPGI\u2013Postgraduate School of Integrated Gestalt Psychotherapy, 80058 Torre Annunziata, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8892-179X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raffaele","family":"Sperandeo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7398-6868","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniela","family":"Cantone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Caserta, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"21","article-title":"Being in the world \u201cbetween\u201d psychotherapy and neuroscience","volume":"5","year":"2023","journal-title":"Phenom. 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