A caress can determine the correct development of the brain. This sentence may seem strange, or at least do-gooder: and yet, it is the scientifically proven truth. It is often said that maternal care, but above all affection concretely expressed through gestures, such as a caress, make the difference in a child’s growth. Well, if on the one hand psychology has expressed this concept several times with various examples, demonstrating that the affection received as children It even shapes the way we lovethis aspect is more rarely treated in neurobiology.
The effects of caresses
Think about how a caress works. Any sensory stimulus, from an affectionate pinch to a violent kick, is first perceived on the skin thanks to specific receptors. The touch of the parent is also perceived by the child thanks to the receptors already present on the newborn’s skin. The skin receptors are diversified in such a way as to distinguish well a light and pleasant touch from a rough and heavy one. Through a series of transformations, the light touch of the mother is transmitted to the brain as a nerve impulse and is recognized every time the child receives a caress.
Touch is perceived through a particular area of the brain, called somatosensory cortex. The cortex is nothing other than the last neuronal covering of the brain, phylogenetically the most recent. Now, the somatosensory cortex It develops in the fetal brain but reaches full maturity only some time after birth: this suggests that when the baby comes into the world, his first emotional contacts provide the basis for developing the connections between neurons of the sensory cortex. A startling study of premature babies showed that when the babies received physical contact from their mothers, both the cortex and some connections between different areas of the brain matured more quickly.
What are the benefits of body affection?
But now we have to ask ourselves: how does thephysical affection can literally modify the brain of a newborn? How is it possible to arrive at real physical modifications of the connections between neurons? As the beautiful work of St. Carozza And V.Leonga caress (but in more scientific terms, a growth style based on tactile affection from the mother in the first phase of life) can modify and have an effect on many areas of the brain and the body in general. Here are which ones:
1. The effects of caressing on synapses
There somatosensory cortexwhich we were talking about before, the one located in the almost median area of the brain, increases its internal and external connections: this means that the neurons present in the cortex and in the surrounding areas will increase their connections (synapses), through mechanisms called plasticity.
2. The effect on the hypothalamic axis
But even deeper and more rooted areas of the brain modify their physiology: think of thehypothalamusfor example. This famous gland, which is responsible for secreting hormones into the blood, is known for releasing the happiness hormone, theoxytocin. This is released in cases of a pleasant stimulus, in contrast to cortisol, the stress hormone. Imagine what happens in the case of affection? A touch-based affection style, in rats, is able to increase the levels of oxytocin secretion by the hypothalamus, increasing the levels of well-being in the newborn. What does oxytocin do? A series of neurons in the brain are able to respond to oxytocin stimuli. The neurons of the brainstemfor example, project towards an area of the trunk specifically capable of activating the parasympathetic neurons of “relaxation”. The sympathetic autonomic nervous system, on the other hand, with its neurons associated with stress, activates in the absence of oxytocin. As a consequence of parasympathetic activity, the entire organism feels the benefits of a general state of relaxation: all thanks to the maternal touch.
3. The effects on cognitive and social development
A particular area of the brain is the limbic system. It is identified as a passage area of many connections, which is located in the deepest part of the brain and includes a series of structures: thalamus, corpus callosum, amygdala, hippocampus and the hypothalamus itself. In short, a team of neurons which deals with regulating social cognition in children and adults. All these areas have been seen to be involved in fear behaviors, learning, memory, emotion and social behaviors. An alteration in these areas in infants could be very serious and lead to interesting consequences in the development of the adult’s social personality. As you can imagine, a childhood characterized by maternal affection is able to strengthen connections, equally distribute neurons and circuits, leading to a complete and healthy maturation of the brain.
Can a caress change adult behavior?
These studies have reported the molecular and physiological consequences of tactile affection on the development of newborns. But can this treatment also positively modify certain social behaviors of the future child? And what about the future adult?
Obviously, the answer is yes. There is a very strong impact on the child’s social behavior, if he has had a positive and affectionate relationship with the caregiver. In the specific case of contact, then, the newborn who is raised with caresses and tactile affection will have a greater predisposition to faces; which means, as far as cognitive development psychology teaches us, a greater predisposition to sociability. If it is true that many antisocial and dangerous behaviors seem to be written in the genes, we could say that a good relationship with others is learned precisely through the affection of a caress.
