An emotional connection that is not invented. In a study published Wednesday, November 17, researchers tried to explain how connected grandmothers were to their grandchildren. And it turns out that this relationship can be explained scientifically.
Indeed, according to the results of specialists from Emory University (United States) published in Proceedings B, MRI scans showed very specific reactions of grandmothers. When they saw themselves presented with photos of a child they knew, their neural reactions mirrored the younger ones.
Seeing them happy, they felt joy, and vice versa when they saw them in distress. To compare, they were also confronted with children they did not know or their adult children for example.
The emotional involvement was much less important. Since mothers have the same kind of reaction, researchers believe it is a form of instinct, which could be linked to the appearance of children. In several animal species, this phenomenon is widespread to elicit a protective reaction in adults, as explained by the Canadian media Press, which relays the study.
The “cute factor”
Asked by the GuardianJames Rilling, lead author of the scientific publication, explains that babies have probably developed traits “capable of manipulating the brains of grandmothers like that of mothers.” In adulthood, children lose what he calls the “cute factor,” which then limits emotional connection.
On the other hand, with fathers, the result is less obvious. On average, areas related to emotional empathy were less used than in grandmothers. James Rilling explained that he hoped he could analyze the reactions in grandfathers more in depth so that he could compare effectively.