Skip to main content
Log in

Nurture, Nature, and Caring: We Are Not Prisoners of Our Genes

  • Published:
Brain and Mind

Abstract

This article develops a theory for how caringbehavior fits into the makeup of humans andother mammals. Biochemical evidence for threemajor patterns of response to stressful orotherwise complex situations is reviewed. There is the classic fight-or-flight response;the dissociative response, involving emotionalwithdrawal and disengagement; and the bondingresponse, a variant of which Taylor et al.(2000) called tend-and-befriend. All three ofthese responses can be explained as adaptationsthat have been selected for in evolution andare shared between humans and other mammals. Yet each of us contains varying tendenciestoward all of these responses. How doesdevelopment interact with genes to influencethese tendencies? How do individuals,societies, and institutions make choicesbetween these types of responses?We review the evidence, based on behavioral,lesion, single-cell, and brain imaging studies,for cortical-subcortical interactions involvedin all three of these response types, andpropose partial neural network models for someof these interactions. We propose that theorbitomedial prefrontal cortex mediates thischoice process. This area of prefrontal cortexperforms this mediation through its connectionswith areas of sensory and association cortexthat represent social contexts or stimuli, andwith areas of the hypothalamus, limbic system,and autonomic nervous system that representemotional states or classes of response patterns.The article concludes with implications of ourtheory for social interactions andinstitutions. We argue that despite the wideprevalence of fight-or-flight responses, thebonding, caring responses remain available. Weshow with historical and contemporary exampleshow social settings – whether in education,work places, families, politics, and informalsocial customs – can be designed to supportand enhance the natural caring responses of thebrain.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altepeter, T., and Korger, J., 1999: Disruptive behavior, oppositional–defiant disorder, and conduct disorder, in S. Netherton, D. Holmes, and C.E.Walker (eds), Child and Adolescent Psychological Disorders, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 118–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aronson, E., 2000: Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion After Columbine, Worth Publishers, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashby, F.G., Turken, A.U., and Isen, A.M., 1999: A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influences on cognition, Psychological Review 106, 526–550.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, A., and Thagard, P., 1997: Empathy and analogy, Dialogue – Canadian Philosophical Review 36, 705–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson, P., 2000: The biological evolution of cooperation and trust, in D. Gambetta (ed.), Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations, electronic edition. Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Chapter 2, pp14–30, <papers/bateson 14–30.pdf>.

  • Bligh–Glover, W., Kolli, T.N., Shapiro–Kulnane, L., Dilley, G.E., Friedman, L., Balraj, E., Rajkowska, G., and Stockmeier, C.A., 2000: The serotonin transporter in the midbrain of suicide victims with major depression, Biological Psychiatry 47, 1015–1024.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bliss, T.V.P., and Lømo, T., 1973: Long–lasting potentiation of synaptic transmission in the dentate area of the anaesthetized rabbit following stimulation of the perforant path, Journal of Physiology (London) 232, 331–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloch, P., 1987: The Empowered Manager, Jossey–Bass, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brammer, G.L., Raleigh, M.J., and McGuire, M.T., 1994: Neurotransmitters and social status, in L. Ellis (ed.), Social Stratification and Socioeconomic Inequality, Praeger, Westport, CT, pp. 75–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J., Bullock, D., and Grossberg, S., 1999: How the basal ganglia use parallel excitatory and inhibitory learning pathways to selectively respond to unexpected rewarding cues, Journal of Neuroscience 19, 10502–10511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunson, K., Eghbal–Ahmadi, M., Bender, R., Chen, Y., and Baram, T.Z., 2001: Long–term, progressive hippocampal cell loss and dysfunction induced by early–life administration of corticotropin–releasing hormone reproduce the effects of early–life stress, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98, 8856–8861.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buijs, R.M., and Van Eden, C.G., 2000: The integration of stress by the hypothalamus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex: Balance between the autonomic nervous system and the neuroendocrine system, Progress in Brain Research 127, 117–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, J.H., 1987: Cellular analysis of associative learning, Physiological Reviews 67, 329–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calhoun, J.B., 1974: Environmental design research and monitoring from an evolutionary perspective, Man–Environment Systems 4, 3–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantor, J.M., Binik, Y.M., and Pfaus, J.G., 1999: Chronic fluoxetine inhibits sexual behavior in the male rat: Reversal with oxytocin, Psychopharmacology (Berlin) 144, 355–362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, M.M., DeVries, C., Williams, J.R., and Carter, C.S., 1999: The effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on partner preferences in male and female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), Behavioral Neuroscience 113, 1071–1079.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courtet, P., Baud P., Abbar, M., Boulenger, J.P., Castelnau, D., Mouthon D., Malafosse A., and Buresi C., 2001: Association between violent suicidal behavior and the low activity allele of the serotonin transporter gene, Molecular Psychiatry 6, 338–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damasio, A., 1994: Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain, Grosset/Putnam, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C., 1871/1981: The Descent of Man, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, R.J., and Rickman, M., 1997: Behavioral inhibition and the emotional circuitry of the brain: Stability and plasticity during the early childhood years, in L.A. Schmidt and J. Schulkin (eds), Extreme Fear, Shyness, and Social Phobia: Origins, Biological Mechanisms, and Clinical Outcomes, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 67–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E.L., and Ryan, R.M., 1985: Intrinsic Motivation and Self–determination in Human Behavior, Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dovidio, J.F., Gaertner, S.L., Isen, A.M., and Lowrance, R., 1995: Group representations and intergroup bias: Positive affect, similarity, and group size, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21, 856–865.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., 1992: The Caring Child, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisler, R., 1987: The Chalice and the Blade, Harper, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisler, R., 1995: Sacred Pleasure, Harper, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisler, R., 2000: Tomorrow's Children, Westview, Boulder, CO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisler, R., 2002: The Power of Partnership, New World Library, Novato, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eslinger, P., 1998: Neurological and neuropsychological bases of empathy, European Neurology 39, 193–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Everitt, B.J., and Robbins, T.W., 1997: Central cholinergic systems and cognition, Annual Review of Psychology 48, 649–684.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, J.N., Young, L.J., Hearn, E.F., Matzuk, M.M., Insel, T.R., and Winslow, J.T., 2000: Social amnesia in mice lacking the oxytocin gene, Nature Genetics 25, 284–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferry, B., Roozendaal, B., and McGaugh, J.L., 1999: Role of norepinephrine in mediating stress hormone regulation of long–term memory storage: A critical involvement of the amygdale, Biological Psychiatry 46, 1140–1152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gariépy, J.–L., Gendreau, P.L., Cairns, R.B., and Lewis, M.H., 1998: D1 dopamine receptors and the reversal of isolation–induced behaviors in mice, Behavioural Brain Research 95, 103–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gariépy, J.–L., Lewis, M.H., and Cairns, R.B., 1996: Genes, neurobiology, and aggression: Time frames and functions of social behaviors in adaptation, in zD.M. Stoff, R.B. Cairns et al. (eds), Aggression and Violence: Genetic, Neurobiological, and Biosocial Perspectives, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gingrich, B., Liu, Y., Cascio, C., Wang, Z., and Insel, T., 2000: Dopamine D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens are important for social attachment in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), Behavioral Neuroscience 114, 173–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grafman, J., and Warden, D.L., 2000: Methodological issues in studying secondary mood disorders, in J. Bogousslavsky and J.L. Cummings (eds.), Behavior and Mood Disorders in Focal Brain Lesions, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenough, W.T., Wallace, C.S., Alcantara, A.A., Anderson, B.J., Hawrylak, N., Sirevaag, A.M. Wiler, I.J., and Withers, G., 1993: Development of the brain: Experience affects the structure of neurons, glia, and blood vessels, in N.J. Anastasiow and S. Harel (eds), At–risk Infants: Interventions, Families, and Research, Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore, pp. 173–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harlow, H.F., 1958: The nature of love, American Psychologist 13, 673–685.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harlow, H.F., and Harlow, M.K., 1962: Social deprivation in monkeys, Scientific American 207(5), 137–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, J.P., and Wang, S., 1998: Effects of early stress on adult affiliative behavior, Psychoneuroendocrinology 23, 863–875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman, J.P., and Cullinan,W.E., 1997: Neurocircuitry of stress: Central control of the hypothalamopituitary–adrenocortical axis, Trends in Neurosciences 20, 78–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Insel, T.R., 1992: Oxytocin: A neuropeptide for affiliation – evidence from behavioral, receptor autoradiographic, and comparative studies, Psychoneuroendocrinology 17, 3–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Insel, T.R., and Winslow, J.T., 1998: Serotonin and neuropeptides in affiliative Behaviors, Biological Psychiatry 44, 207–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Insel, T.R., Winslow, J.T., Wang, Z., and Young, L.J., 1998: Oxytocin, vasopressin, and the neuroendocrine basis of pair bond formation, in H.H. Zingg, C.W. Bourque, and D.G. Bichet (eds), Vasopressin and Oxytocin: Molecular, Cellular, and Clinical Advances, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 215–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen, A.M., 1987: Positive affect, cognitive processes, and social behavior, in Leonard Berkowitz et al. (eds), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 20, Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 203–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen, A.M., 1993: Positive affect and decision making, in Michael Lewis, Jeannette M. Haviland et al. (eds), Handbook of Emotions, The Guilford Press, New York, pp. 261–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen, A.M., 1999: Positive affect, in Tim Dalgleish, Mick J. Power et al. (eds), Handbook of Cognition and Emotion, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester, England, pp. 521–539.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T.A., Klintsova, A.Y., Kilman, V.L., Sirevaag, A.M., and Greenough, W.T., 1997: Induction of multiple synapses by experience in the visual cortex of adult rats, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 68, 13–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, E.R., and Tauc, L., 1965: Heterosynaptic facilitation in neurones of the abdominal ganglion of Aplysia depilans, Journal of Physiology (London) 181, 1–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kazdin, A.E., 1987: Treatment of antisocial behavior in children, Psychological Bulletin 102, 187– 203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleim, J.A., Pipitone, M.A., Czerlanis, C., and Greenough, W.T., 1998a: Structural stability within the lateral cerebellar nucleus of the rat following complex motor learning, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 69, 290–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleim, J.A., Swain, R.A., Armstrong, K.A., Napper, R.M.A., Jones, T.A., and Greenough, W.T., 1998b: Selective synaptic plasticity within the cerebellar cortex following complex motor skill learning, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 69, 274–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knox, S.S., and Uvnäs–Moberg, K., 1998: Social isolation and cardiovascular disease: An atherosclerotic pathway? Psychoneuroendocrinology 23, 877–890.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koob, G.F., 1999: Corticotropin–releasing factor, norepinephrine, and stress, Biological Psychiatry 46, 1167–1180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koob, G.F., and LeMoal, M., 2001: Drug addiction, dysregulation of reward, and allostasis, Neuropsycho–pharmacology 24, 97–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovács, G.L., Sarnyai, Z., and Szabó, G., 1998: Oxytocin and addiction: A review, Psychoneuroendocrinology 23, 945–962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leven, S.J., and Elsberry, W.R., 1990: Interactions among embedded networks under uncertainty, IJCNN International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, Vol. III, IEEE, San Diego, pp. 739–742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine, D.S., 1995: Learning and encoding higher order rules in neural networks, Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers 27, 178–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine, D.S., and Leven, S.J., 2001: Orbitofrontal control of three competing subcortical stress response systems, Unpublished invited oral presentation at International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, Washington, DC, July.

  • Lochman, J.E., 1992: Cognitive behavioral intervention with aggressive boys, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 60, 426–432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loye, D., 1999: Darwin's Lost Theory of Love, iUniverse, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loye, D., 2000: Darwin's lost theory and its implications for the 21st century, World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution 55(3), 201–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, P.D., 1990: The Triune Brain in Evolution: Role in Paleocerebral Functions, Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markowitch, H.J., Kessler, J., van der Ven, C., Weber–Luxenburger, G., Albers, M., and Heiss, W.–D., 1998: Psychic trauma causing grossly reduced brain metabolism and cognitive deterioration, Neuropsychologia 36, 77–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A.H., 1971: The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Viking, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, M.T., and Raleigh, M.J., 1986: Behavioral and physiological consequences of ostracism, Ethology and Sociobiology 7(3–4), 187–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellers, B., Schwartz, A., and Ritov, I., 1999: Emotion–based choice, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 128, 332–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milne, E., and Grafman, J., 2001: Ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions in humans eliminate implicit gender stereotyping, Journal of Neuroscience Special Issue 21(12), 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nauta, W.J.H., 1971: The problem of the frontal lobe: A reinterpretation, Journal of Psychiatric Research 8, 167–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nestler, E.J., Alreja, M., and Aghajanian, G.K., 1999: Molecular control of locus coeruleus neurotransmission, Biological Psychiatry 46, 1131–1139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öngür, D., and Price, J.L., 2000: The organization of networks within the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex of rats, monkeys, and humans, Cerebral Cortex 10, 206–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, B.D., 1988: Placental and blood element neurotransmitter receptor regulation in humans: Potential models for studying neurochemical mechanisms underlying behavioral teratology, Progress in Brain Research 73, 189–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, B.D., Pollard, R.A., Blakley, T.L., Baker, W.L., and Vigilante, D., 1995: Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation, and “use–dependent” development of the brain: How “states” become “traits”, Infant Mental Health Journal 16, 271–291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pert, C.B., 1997: Molecules of Emotion, Touchstone, New York.

  • Pfaffmann, C., 1960: The pleasures of sensation, Psychological Review 67, 253–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pietrini, P., Guazzelli, M., Basso, G., Jaffe, K., and Grafman, J., 2000: Neural correlates of imaginal aggressive behavior assessed by positron emission tomography in healthy subjects, American Journal of Psychiatry 157, 1772–1781.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinker, S., 1997: How the Mind Works, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pribram, K., 1981: Emotions. In S.B. Fitskov and T.J. Boll, (eds), Handbook of Clinical Neuropsychology, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, J.L., 1999: Prefrontal cortical networks related to visceral function and mood, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 877, 383–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A., Brennan, P., and Mednick, S.A., 1994: Birth complications combined with early maternal rejection at age 1 year predispose to violent crime at age 18 years, Archives of General Psychiatry 51, 982–988.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A., Lencz, T., Bihrle, S., LaCasse, L., and Colletti, P., 2000: Reduced prefrontal gray matter volume and reduced autonomic activity in antisocial personality disorder, Archives of General Psychiatry 57, 119–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raleigh, M.J., McGuire, M.T., Brammer, G.L., and Yuwiler, A., 1984: Social and environmental influences on blood serotonin concentrations in monkeys, Archives of General Psychiatry 41, 405–410.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblum, L.A., Coplan, J.D., Friedman, S., Bassoff, T., Gorman, J.M., and Andrews, M.W., 1994: Adverse early experiences affect noradrenergic and serotonergic functioning in adult primates, Biological Psychiatry 35, 221–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C.D., and Singer, B., 1998: The contours of positive human health, Psychological Inquiry 9, 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarnyai, Z., and Kovács, G.L., 1994: Role of oxytocin in the neuroadaptation to drugs of abuse, Psychoneuroendocrinology 19, 85–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schore, A., 1994: Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, W., Tremblay, L., and Hollerman, J.R., 2000: Reward processing in primate orbitofrontal cortex and basal ganglia, Cerebral Cortex Special Issue: The Mysterious Orbitofrontal Cortex 10, 272–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shore, R., 1997: Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development, Families and Work Institute, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shores, M.M., Pascualy, M., Lewis, N.L., Flatness, D., and Veith, R.C., 2001: Short–term sertraline treatment suppresses sympathetic nervous system activity in healthy human subjects, Psychoneuroendocrinology 26, 433–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S.E., Klein, L.C., Lewis, B.P., Gruenewald, T.L., Gurung, R.A.R., and Updegraff, J.A., 2000: Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: Tend–and–befriend, not fight–or–flight, Psychological Review 107, 411–429.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tecott, L.H., 1996: Serotonin receptor diversity: Implications for psychopharmacology, American Psychiatric Press Review of Psychiatry 15, 331–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R.A., Altemus, M., Enos, T., Cooper, B., and McGuinness, T., 1999: Preliminary research on plasma oxytocin in healthy, normal cycling women investigating emotion and interpersonal distress, Psychiatry 62, 97–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uvnäs–Moberg, K., 1997: Oxytocin linked antistress effects – the relaxation and growth response, Acta Physiologica Scandinavica 640(Suppl.), 38–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uvnäs–Moberg, K., 1998: Oxytocin may mediate the benefits of positive social interaction and emotion, Psychoneuroendocrinology 23, 819–835.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uvnäs–Moberg, K., Bjokstrand, E., Hillegaart, V., and Ahlenius, S., 1999: Oxytocin as a possible mediator of SSRI–induced antidepressant effects, Psychopharmacology (Berlin) 142, 95–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Eden, C.G., and Buijs, R.M., 2000: Functional anatomy of the prefrontal cortex: Autonomic interactions, Progress in Brain Research 126, 49–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Yu, G., Cascio, C., Liu, Y., Gingrich, B., and Insel, T., 1999: Dopamine D2 receptormediated regulation of partner preferences in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), Behavioral Neuroscience 113, 602–611.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R.W., 1959: Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence, Psychological Review 66, 297–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winslow, J.T., Shapiro, L., Carter, C.S., Insel, T.R., 1993: Oxytocin and complex social behavior: Species comparisons, Psychopharmacology Bulletin 29, 403–414.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Eisler, R., Levine, D.S. Nurture, Nature, and Caring: We Are Not Prisoners of Our Genes. Brain and Mind 3, 9–52 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016553723748

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016553723748

Navigation