You know: kittens, puppies or small children often inspire tenderness even in the hardest hearts. This feeling can be explained through a combination of evolutionary factors And neurobiological. From an evolutionary point of view, Konrad Lorenz introduced the concept of “baby scheme”, according to which some typical characteristics of children and puppies evoke Innate answers of care and protection. At the neurobiological level, however, observing puppies images stimulates brain areas dedicated to the gratification system and generates positive emotions, empathic involvement And Pleasure. Operating in synergy, these two factors together give life to that viral phenomenon That kittens seem to represent since social networks exist.
The neurobiological bases of tenderness
There are aspects both physiological That neurological That are activated when we look at childish faces or images of puppies, which, compared to other visual stimuli, “capture” and commit more cognitive resources and brain areas. Experiments with images of children and animals tell us that these stimulate more facial muscles associate them with a smile compared to neutral images, and activate our brain networks associated with positive emotions, empathy And Pleasure.
The key activation area of our brain seems to be the orbitofrontal cortex (which is immediately behind our eyes), a portion of the brain involved in the regulation of ours emotions and connected to the limbic system (the area of emotions par excellence). For the development of the typical sensations of tenderness, the activation of the nucleus accumulationkey structure in the feeling of Pleasure And gratificationand del Preconusassociated with attention.
When we run into images of kittens on social networks, all this combines with the cascade mechanisms typical of when we are on the platforms: at each new scroll thereVentral Tegmental Area releases dopamine towards the Accurubens nucleus.
What is Kondrad Lorenz’s baby scheme: the puppies are scientifically more tender
To explain why “Internet loves cats”, from an evolutionary point of view, we must start from the founder of theethology modern, Konrad Lorenz. Nobel Prize for Medicine for his imprinting studies in puppiesLorenz developed an evolutionary theory that explained why puppies inspired those well -known feelings of sweetness and attractiveness. He called this “Kindchenchema” phenomenon or, in the English translation, “Baby scheme“. The puppies, as well as babies, present some characteristics that are perceived as” cute “, and which activate in us instinctive care and protection behaviors.
The big head, the round face, the eyes are elements selected by the natural selection with the function of increasing our involvement towards them, and consequently also their chances of survivalwhich would otherwise be very low, given the poor ability to get food and defend themselves from predators in the initial stages of their life.
We must not forget that cats (and even more dogs) have long been animals that have undergone a process of domesticationliving in close contact with man. This means that some of their characteristics have been selected directly by us and our coexistence, and it is easy to think that puppies with a higher one “attractiveness“They had grown up more carefully, thus being able to have more likely to transmit the characteristics of desability.
