Mary-Frances O'Connor Books
Mary-Frances O’Connor is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab. Her research focuses on the neurobiological and psychological processes of grief and bereavement.
Known for: The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
Books by Mary-Frances O'Connor
The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
In this groundbreaking work, neuroscientist Mary-Frances O’Connor explores the science behind grief and the human brain’s response to loss. Drawing on decades of research, she explains how our neural systems for attachment and learning are deeply intertwined with the experience of bereavement, offering a compassionate and evidence-based understanding of how we adapt to the death of loved ones.
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The Nature of Attachment
Attachment is one of the brain’s most fundamental operations. From infancy onward, our survival depends on bonding with others. What fascinates me as a neuroscientist is that these bonds are not abstract emotions; they are encoded in specific neural systems that track proximity, care, and emotional ...
From The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
Learning and Expectation
One of the central ideas in this book is that grieving is not about forgetting, but learning. The brain’s predictive machinery — the same processes that allow us to navigate the world with ease — has learned patterns from our loved one’s existence. For instance, you might unconsciously expect the so...
From The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
About Mary-Frances O'Connor
Mary-Frances O’Connor is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab. Her research focuses on the neurobiological and psychological processes of grief and bereavement.
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Mary-Frances O’Connor is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab. Her research focuses on the neurobiological and psychological processes of grief and bereavement.
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