Caring for Babies Changes Our Brain in Amazing Ways

Topic: Biology

Scientists studied how mice care for their babies and found that our brains adapt to improve survival chances. They discovered that exposure to baby sounds and smells can trigger caregiving behavior, even in non-mothers.

Bianca Jones Marlin is a scientist who studies how our bodies change when we care for others. She works at Columbia University and has spent over a decade studying how our brains adapt to improve our chances of survival.

Marlin is interested in epigenetics, which is the study of how environmental experiences affect gene expression. In her lab, she studies mice from different backgrounds: biological mothers who have given birth before, virgin females that learn to care for pups, and male mice that pass on unexpected adaptations.

Mouse babies are born blind, deaf, and unable to regulate their body temperature. They rely completely on adult mice for warmth and food to survive infancy. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps mothers bond with their babies. When a baby cries, oxytocin is released in the mother's body, making her care for the baby.

Marlin and her team wanted to see if they could induce oxytocin in non-mothers by exposing them to baby sounds and smells. They found that when virgin females were housed with mother mice and pups, they began to care for the babies just like mothers do. This was because their brains had adapted to respond to the baby's cries and smells.

To understand what was happening in the brain, Marlin used a special imaging technique called iDISCO. She compared the brains of virgins, experienced virgins (those who had cohabitated with mother mice and pups), and biological mothers. The results showed that experienced virgins' brains were similar to those of mothers when it came to responding to baby sounds.

Marlin's findings suggest that biology uses mechanisms like oxytocin to help us care for others, even if we're not biologically related. This means that exposure to baby sounds and smells can trigger caregiving behavior in non-mothers.

Why It Matters

This research is important because it shows how our brains adapt to improve survival chances. It also suggests that biology has prepared us to care for others, which is essential for human societies.

Key Facts

• Bianca Jones Marlin is a scientist who studies epigenetics and caregiving behavior in mice at Columbia University.
• Mouse babies are born blind, deaf, and unable to regulate their body temperature.
• Oxytocin is a hormone that helps mothers bond with their babies.
• Exposure to baby sounds and smells can trigger caregiving behavior in non-mothers.
• Marlin's findings suggest that biology uses mechanisms like oxytocin to help us care for others.

Key Terms

Epigenetics

The study of how environmental experiences affect gene expression.

Implications

This research is important because it shows how our brains adapt to improve survival chances. It also suggests that biology has prepared us to care for others, which is essential for human societies.