Neuroendocrinology of Parental Response to Baby‐Cry
Year: 2011
Type: review
Abstract: This overview attempts to synthesise current understandings of the neuroendocrine basis of parenting. The parent-infant bond is central to the human condition, contributes to risks for mood and anxiety disorders, and provides the potential for resiliency and protection against the development of psychopathology. Animal models of parenting provide compelling evidence that biological mechanisms may be studied in humans. This has led to brain imaging and endocrine system studies of human parents using baby stimuli and concerted psychological and behavioural measures. Certain brain circuits and related hormonal systems, including subcortical regions for motivation (striatum, amygdala, hypothalamus and hippocampus) and cortical regions for social cognition (anterior cingulate, insula, medial frontal and orbitofrontal cortices), appear to be involved. These brain circuits work with a range of endocrine systems to manage stress and motivate appropriate parental caring behaviour with a flexibility appropriate to the environment. Work in this field promises to link evolving models of parental brain performance with resilience, risk and treatment toward mother-infant mental health.
Source: Journal of Neuroendocrinology
Authors: J. E. Swain, P. Kim, S. S. Ho
Institutions: University of Michigan, National Institute of Mental Health
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Yale University, Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, University of Michigan, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, National Center for Research Resources, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
OpenAlex ID: W1537773060