FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·November 16, 2022·5 min readMothers’ Activity Levels May Depend on Number and Ages of ChildrenMothers with school-age children perform slightly more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day than those with younger children. Less than 50% of mothers met the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·September 20, 2022·12 min readObservations in Macaques Provide New Insights Into How Mothers Form Attachments to Their NewbornsFemale macaques appear to form an attachment to their infants via tactile sensations of their soft textures rather than on other cues, including sight and sound.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·June 7, 2022·6 min readHow Mothers Calm Their Distressed Infants With Soothing SignalsStudy reveals how postpartum depression has an impact on how a mother soothes her baby and changes in maternal neurobiological mechanisms when it comes to soothing.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·February 23, 2022·4 min readMoms at Highest Risk for Postpartum Depression IdentifiedYounger mothers, first time moms, and women who give birth to twins are at the highest risk of developing postpartum depression, a new study reports.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·February 21, 2022·4 min readHormone Found to Regulate Mothers’ BehaviorProlactin, a hormone responsible for milk production in mothers, reduces a mother's investment in aggressive behaviors and helps to increase protective behaviors.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·June 1, 2021·4 min readWhy Moms Take Risks to Protect Their InfantsA mother's overwhelming desire to take risks in the face of danger to protect her child, and other nurturing behaviors, are driven by neurons in the cMPOA region of the hypothalamus which contains a protein called the calcitonin receptor.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·January 12, 2021·3 min readMothers, but Not Fathers, With Multiple Children Report More Fragmented SleepMothers with more than one child reported more sleep disruptions that mothers with just one child. The number of children did not impact the quality, or quantity, of sleep for fathers.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·September 30, 2020·3 min readBreastfeeding Hormones Make Mothers HappierBreastfeeding mothers with higher levels of oxytocin show more enhanced positive recognition of adult faces. The findings shed light on how oxytocin may support both continued nurturing behaviors and affects general social cognition of other adults.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·December 18, 2019·4 min readMothers’ and babies’ brains ‘more in tune’ when mother is happyPositive interaction with direct eye contact between mother and infant enhances the ability to synchronize brain waves.Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·October 24, 2019·3 min readYoung moms more likely to have kids with ADHDWhile there is a clear genetic link between young mothers and ADHD in their children, the association is not necessarily causal.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·September 28, 2019·5 min readNew baby smell: How newborn babies’ head odor facilitates bondingStudy sheds light on the olfactory importance of the smell of a newborn baby's head and mother-child bonding.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·September 27, 2019·4 min readTeenagers less likely to respond to mothers with controlling tone of voiceMothers who address their teens with a neutral tone of voice elicit more positive and less negative emotions in their children, increasing closeness. Those who speak with a controlling tone evoke negative emotions and have a less close bond with their teenage child.Read More