title: Frequency of Maternal Touch Predicts Resting Activity and Connectivity of the Developing Social Brain.
abstract: Previous behavioral research points to a positive relationship between maternal touch and early social development. Here, we explored the brain correlates of this relationship. The frequency of maternal touch was recorded for 43 five-year-old children during a 10 min standardized play session. Additionally, all children completed a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging session. Investigating the default mode network revealed a positive relation between the frequency of maternal touch and activity in the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) extending into the temporo-parietal junction. Using this effect as a seed in a functional connectivity analysis identified a network including extended bilateral regions along the temporal lobe, bilateral frontal cortex, and left insula. Compared with children with low maternal touch, children with high maternal touch showed additional connectivity with the right dorso-medial prefrontal cortex. Together these results support the notion that childhood tactile experiences shape the developing "social brain" with a particular emphasis on a network involved in mentalizing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Yaqiong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: LIFE Research Center, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Poulain
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Angela D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Friederici
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and LSI Neurobiology/Ageing Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Duke/NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Annett
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schirmer
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012146:Rest; D012919:Social Behavior; D056345:Theory of Mind; D014110:Touch
keywords: C-tactile afferents; affective touch; resting-state fMRI; stroking; theory of mind