Calming Cycle Theory
Martha G. Welch, MD, Director of the Nurture Science Program, published a viewpoint article in Acta Paediatrica that explains Calming Cycle Theory and the role of visceral/autonomic learning in early mother and infant/child behavior and development.
Calming Cycle Theory proposes that early emotional behavior is shaped by visceral/autonomic co-conditioning between mother and infant. Two new constructs, emotional connection and visceral/autonomic co-regulation, are defined within a functional Pavlovian conditioning framework and are theorized to be part of an evolutionary conserved mammalian phenomenon.