title: Mother and infant coordinate heart rhythms through episodes of interaction synchrony.
abstract: Animal studies demonstrated the powerful impact of maternal-infant social contact on the infant's physiological systems, yet the online effects of social interactions on the human infant's physiology remain poorly understood. Mothers and their 3-month old infants were observed during face-to-face interactions while cardiac output was collected from mother and child. Micro-analysis of the partners' behavior marked episodes of gaze, affect, and vocal synchrony. Time-series analysis showed that mother and infant coordinate heart rhythms within lags of less than 1 s. Bootstrapping analysis indicated that the concordance between maternal and infant biological rhythms increased significantly during episodes of affect and vocal synchrony compared to non-synchronous moments. Humans, like other mammals, can impact the physiological processes of the attachment partner through the coordination of visuo-affective social signals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. feldman@mail.biu.ac.il
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Romi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Magori-Cohen
authors.forename: Giora
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galili
authors.forename: Magi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Louzoun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior