title: Baby schema modulates the brain reward system in nulliparous women.
abstract: Ethologist Konrad Lorenz defined the baby schema ("Kindchenschema") as a set of infantile physical features, such as round face and big eyes, that is perceived as cute and motivates caretaking behavior in the human, with the evolutionary function of enhancing offspring survival. The neural basis of this fundamental altruistic instinct is not well understood. Prior studies reported a pattern of brain response to pictures of children, but did not dissociate the brain response to baby schema from the response to children. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and controlled manipulation of the baby schema in infant faces, we found that baby schema activates the nucleus accumbens, a key structure of the mesocorticolimbic system mediating reward processing and appetitive motivation, in nulliparous women. Our findings suggest that engagement of the mesocorticolimbic system is the neurophysiologic mechanism by which baby schema promotes human caregiving, regardless of kinship.
authors.affiliation: Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. melanieglocker@aol.com
authors.forename: Melanie L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Glocker
authors.forename: Daniel D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Langleben
authors.forename: Kosha
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruparel
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Loughead
authors.forename: Jeffrey N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Valdez
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sachser
authors.forename: Ruben C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000533:Altruism; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult