Differentiated Brain Activity in Response to Faces of “Own” Versus “Unfamiliar” Babies in Primipara Mothers: An Electrophysiological Study

Abstract

Experiences with one's own infant attune the parent nervous system to infant stimuli. To explore the effects of motherhood on brain activity patterns, electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded while primipara mothers of 3- and 6-month-olds viewed images of faces of their own child and an unfamiliar but appearance-matched child. Mothers of 3- and 6-month-olds showed equivalent early-wave (N/P1 “visual” and N170 “face-sensitive”) responses to own and unfamiliar baby faces but differentiating late-wave (N/P600 “familiar/ novel”) activity to own versus unfamiliar infant faces. Based on 3 months experience with their own infant's face, mothers' brain patterns give evidence of distinctive late-wave (recognition) sensitivity.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank A. Bradley, A. Dovidio, P. Horn, and C. Padilla.

Notes

This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, NICHD.