PSYC23H3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Nucleus Accumbens, Basolateral Amygdala, Oxytocin Receptor
Document Summary
The biology of mammalian parenting and its effect on offspring social development. Giving birth leads from an aversion to infant stimuli to irresistible attraction. Estrogen and progesterone prepare the uterus for embryo implantation and placental development. Prolactin stimulates milk production, whereas oxytocin initiates labor and triggers milk ejection during nursing. These same molecules, interacting with dopamine, also activate specific neural pathways to motivate parents to nurture, bond with, and protect their offspring. Parenting in turn shapes the neural development of the infant social brain. The nurturing relationship between parent and infant profoundly affects the development of the brain systems regulating social behavior. Similar systems along with vasopressin and testosterone influence paternal care in biparental species. Parental nurturing has long-term effects on these same neural systems in infants, resulting in nongenomic transmission of parenting and attachment styles. Hormonal synchronization of physiology, brain, and behavior in rodents.
