Neurobiological Basis of Motherhood
Massimo Ammaniti & Vittorio Gallese
Along with the psychological transformations that take place during pregnancy and in the first year of the baby’s life, striking changes occur in the mother’s brain with the activation of maternal care circuits (Panksepp, 1998). The fundamental modifications that characterize the transformation from female brain into maternal brain are initiated by pregnancy hormones–gene interactions. The activated brain circuits promote nurturant and caregiving behavior toward offspring in mothers and less frequently and in a reduced way in fathers; this is understandable because the mammalian female brain is preadapted to care for the offspring.
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