The DOI matches its Crossref record; 104 of the 105 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Maternal Neglect: Oxytocin, Dopamine and the Neurobiology of Attachment
Open accessAbstract
Maternal neglect, including physical and emotional neglect, is a pervasive public health challenge with serious long‐term effects on child health and development. I provide an overview of the neurobiological basis of maternal caregiving, aiming to better understand how to prevent and respond to maternal neglect. Drawing from both animal and human studies, key biological systems are identified that contribute to maternal caregiving behaviour, focusing on the oxytocinergic and dopaminergic systems. Mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine pathways contribute to the processing of infant‐related sensory cues leading to a behavioural response. Oxytocin may activate the dopaminergic reward pathways in response to social cues. Human neuroimaging studies are summarised that demonstrate parallels between animal and human maternal caregiving responses in the brain. By comparing different patterns of human adult attachment, we gain a clearer understanding of how differences in maternal brain and endocrine responses may contribute to maternal neglect. For example, in insecure/dismissing attachment, which may be associated with emotional neglect, we see reduced activation of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine reward system in response to infant face cues, as well as decreased peripheral oxytocin response to mother–infant contact. We are currently testing whether the administration of intranasal oxytocin, as part of a randomised placebo controlled trial, may reverse some of these neurological differences, and potentially augment psychosocial and behavioural interventions for maternal neglect.
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“For the fetus before birth, oxytocin is released into fetal circulation from the fetal brain (via the posterior pituitary gland) bringing about multiple physiological benefits (Strathearn, 2011).”
From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Strathearn, 2011
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Research works printed but not linked: 3
- US Department of Health and Human Services, 2010, Child Maltreatment 2009
- Sedlak AJ, 1996, The Third National Incidence Study On Child Abuse And Neglect
- Strathearn L, 2008, Does Chronic Cocaine Use Affect a Mother’s Brain Response to Baby Face Cues? A pilot fMRI study
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants
Moore, E. R., Bergman, N., Anderson, G. C., & Medley, N. (2016) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd003519.pub4 · Cited by 1,930
The Neurobiology of Human Attachments
Feldman, R. (2017) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.11.007 · Cited by 839
“Yet, while DA neurons function as general-purpose stimulators to reward-related targets, it is their close links with OT receptors in striatum, where OT receptors abound [18,19], that imbue attachment bonds with incentive value and direct action toward affiliative goals, such as maternal care [9,20,21].”
Future Directions in Childhood Adversity and Youth Psychopathology
McLaughlin, K. A. (2016) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2015.1110823 · Cited by 576
“Alternatively, given the central role of the mesolimbic dopamine system in attachment-related behavior (Strathearn, 2011), the absence or unpredictability of an attachment figure in early development may reduce opportunities for learning about the rewarding nature of affiliative interactions and social bonds; the abse…”
BackgroundLong-term Cognitive, Psychological, and Health Outcomes Associated With Child Abuse and Neglect
Strathearn, L., Giannotti, M., Mills, R., Kisely, S., Najman, J., & Abajobir, A. (2020) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2020-0438 · Cited by 401
Self-citationSubstance use during pregnancy
Forray, A. (2016) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.7645.1 · Cited by 322
Metadata
- Authors
- Strathearn, L.
- Affiliations
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Strathearn, L.
- ORCID
- Strathearn, L.
- Venue
- Journal of Neuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-10-18
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1054-1065
- ISSN
- 0953-8194 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2826
- PMC
- PMC3319675
- OpenAlex
- W1586996126
- Cited by
- 268
- References
- 105
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 2.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA026437, P01DA022446, P0 DA022446)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD065819)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- maternal neglect, maternal care, oxytocin, dopamine, attachment, nigrostriatal dopamine pathway, emotional neglect, infant face processing, mother-infant contact, intranasal oxytocin
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child Abuse, Dopamine, Humans, Mothers, Oxytocin
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