Newborn Baby’s Odour Provokes The Same Reaction In The Brain As Tempting Food
As per Canadian researchers, the smell of newborn baby provokes the same reward circuits in the brain as when eating something great or having sex. The odour of a newborn baby is a “chemical communication between mother and child.”
Scientists say that the way a drug addict enjoys his fix when he craves for it, the same way smell of a baby excites a woman.
When a
mother feels like munching or gobbling up the face or arms of a baby in
her arms, even if the baby is not her, it’s a natural biological
reaction which is linked with maternal functions.
Dr. Frasnelli and his team conducted a study on two groups of mothers. One group consisted 15 women had given birth within six weeks and the other consisted 15 women who had never had babies. These women were given the pyjama scents of newborns to scan their brains.
Although the babies did not belong to those mothers, the pleasure chemical dopamine shot up on the images of the mothers in the caudate nucleus when compared with non mothers, shows the study published in Frontiers in psychology.
The
caudate nucleus is in the centre of the brain and plays a vital role in
reward learning. Our reactions are not triggered by all the odours,only
those which are associated with reward like food or satisfying your
sexual desire cause this activation. The Dopamine is also related with
sexual pleasure and other forms of satisfaction.
A per the study, the odour of a baby helps in the development of the motivational and emotional responses between mother and baby. The bond of mother-child is a part of feeling of maternal love which is a product of evolution through natural selection in an environment where this bond is necessary for the survival of the newborn baby.
As per Canadian researchers, the smell of newborn baby provokes the same reward circuits in the brain as when eating something great or having sex. The odour of a newborn baby is a “chemical communication between mother and child.”
Scientists say that the way a drug addict enjoys his fix when he craves for it, the same way smell of a baby excites a woman.
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Dr Johannes Frasnelli, of Montreal University, said: “The olfactory - thus non-verbal and non-visual - chemical signals for communication between mother and child are intense.”The odour of the baby activates the neurological reward circuits in mothers which are usually active when you eat while you are so hungry.
Dr. Frasnelli and his team conducted a study on two groups of mothers. One group consisted 15 women had given birth within six weeks and the other consisted 15 women who had never had babies. These women were given the pyjama scents of newborns to scan their brains.
Although the babies did not belong to those mothers, the pleasure chemical dopamine shot up on the images of the mothers in the caudate nucleus when compared with non mothers, shows the study published in Frontiers in psychology.
 |
A per the study, the odour of a baby helps in the development of the motivational and emotional responses between mother and baby. The bond of mother-child is a part of feeling of maternal love which is a product of evolution through natural selection in an environment where this bond is necessary for the survival of the newborn baby.
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