10 July 2008

Hit me baby ONE MORE TIME

"A baby's smile gives a new mother a high like a drug hit and is equally addictive, a study of the female brain shows.

A study involving 28 first-time mothers shows that when a woman looks at a photo of her baby smiling the reward centres of her brain light up. These areas had also been activated in experiments associated with drug addiction.

"It may be that seeing your own baby's face is like a natural high," said Dr Strathearn, who is now based at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

The study, published in the journal Paediatrics, showed this maternal activation was strongest with smiling faces. Photos of babies crying did not evoke the same brain response..."

Full article here...

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