Duration of motherhood has incremental effects on mothers' neural processing of infant vocal cues: a neuroimaging study of women.

摘要: The transition to motherhood, and the resultant experience of caregiving, may change way women respond affective, infant signals in their environments. Nonhuman animal studies have robustly demonstrated that mothers process both other salient differently from nonmothers. Here, we investigated how with without young infants vocalisations adults (both crying neutral). We examined ranging age (1–14 months) examine effects duration maternal experience. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, found showed greater activity than nonmothers or a range cortical regions implicated processing affective auditory cues. This main effect status suggests general difference vocalisation across adult sounds. longer therefore more an infant, was associated infant-specific key parental brain regions, including orbitofrontal cortex amygdala. suggest these incremental differences neural reflect building capacity over time. is consistent conceptualizations caregiving as dynamic, learning humans.