Neural scans on women help explain the extremely strong bond between mother and baby by showing how images of the infant affect the brain.
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 regions, called the substantia nigra, the striatum and the frontal lobe, are involved in emotion processing, cognition and behavioural outputs.
Lead researcher Lane Strathearn, a Queenslander now based in the US, said 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 based at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
