Parents know the transformative nature of having and caring for a child. Among many
mammals, giving birth leads from an aversion to infant stimuli to irresistible attraction. Here …

As any new parent knows, having a baby provides opportunities for enrichment, learning
and stress–experiences known to change the adult brain. Yet surprisingly little is known …

Parental care is essential for the survival of offspring in altricial mammalian species.
However, in most mammals, virgin females tend to avoid or attack infants. Moreover, most …

OBJECTIVE: Research on the neurobiology of parenting has defined biobehavioral
synchrony, the coordination of biological and behavioral responses between parent and …

Highlights•Infants form attachment to their caregiver despite the quality of parenting.•Parents
program emotionality via regulation of infant physiology.•Parental nurturance and caregiver …

Parental empathy is a key component of sensitive parenting that supports children's social
adaptation throughout life. Consistent with a two dissociable network perspective on …

The early social environment has a profound impact on developmental trajectories. Although
an impoverished early environment can undermine the acquisition of appropriate social …

It has been long recognized that parents exert profound influences on child development.
Dating back to at least the seventeenth-century Enlightenment, the ability for parents to …

Whether it is the sound of a distressed cry or the image of a cute face, infants capture our
attention. Parents and other adults alike are drawn into interactions to engage in play …

Early caregiving experiences play a central role in shaping emotional development, stress
physiology, and refinement of limbic circuitry. Converging evidence across species …