Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Attachment

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types

Parental Care

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.

Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis

Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis

The response to stress—be it physical or psychological, acute or chronic—involves activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis is part of the neuroendocrine system because it involves both neuronal and hormonal communication. Its function is to regulate homeostatic systems—metabolic, cardiovascular, and immune—providing the necessary means to respond to a stressor.

Parenting Styles

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind's four parenting styles — authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and permissive — each influence children's socio-emotional development differently.
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...

Adrenal Gland Disorders

Adrenal Gland Disorders

Adrenal gland disorders manifest when the production of adrenal hormones deviates from the norm, resulting in either excessive or insufficient concentrations.
Adrenal insufficiency, characterized by insufficient cortisol and aldosterone production, leads to conditions like Addison's disease. This disorder, affecting the adrenal cortex, exhibits symptoms such as skin bronzing, dehydration, low blood pressure, fatigue, and weight loss. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a genetic ailment causing...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Longitudinal MRI reveals adolescent pituitary growth patterns linked to puberty and environmental exposures.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2026

Same author

Positive childhood experiences relate to prenatal mental health symptoms and diagnoses independent of childhood maltreatment.

Journal of mood and anxiety disorders·2026

Same author

Using In-Home Air Quality Monitoring to Reduce Cannabis Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Children: Quantitative Pilot Feasibility Study.

JMIR formative research·2026

Same author

Anhedonia buffers the effects of early-life unpredictability on threat-reward decision-making.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Anhedonia underlies the association between childhood unpredictability and adult PTSD symptoms: Evidence from three independent longitudinal cohorts.

Psychological medicine·2026

Same author

Prenatal Maternal Mindfulness as a Predictor of Infant Emerging Effortful Control and Negative Affect.

Mindfulness·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Published on: June 13, 2021

Unpredictable maternal behavior is associated with a blunted infant cortisol response.

Amanda N Noroña-Zhou^1,2, Alyssa Morgan², Laura M Glynn³

¹Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.

Developmental Psychobiology

|March 3, 2020

Summary

Infant exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals blunts cortisol stress response. This finding highlights how caregiving patterns impact infant stress regulation and HPA axis function.

Keywords:

HPA axis infant parental care

More Related Videos

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents

Published on: June 10, 2013

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Published on: April 5, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Published on: June 13, 2021

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents

Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents

Published on: June 10, 2013

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Published on: April 5, 2024

Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Neuroendocrinology
Maternal-Infant Interaction

Background:

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is linked to health issues.
Early-life adversity can alter cortisol responses to stress.
Maternal behavior patterns may influence infant stress reactivity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between maternal behavior patterns and infant stress response.
To determine if unpredictable maternal sensory signals affect infant cortisol levels during a stressor.

Main Methods:

102 mother-infant dyads participated in a longitudinal study.
Maternal sensory signal unpredictability (visual, auditory, tactile) was quantified using entropy rate during play.
Infant salivary cortisol was measured before and after a painful inoculation at 12 months.

Main Results:

Unpredictable maternal sensory signals were associated with a blunted infant cortisol response to pain.
This association remained significant after controlling for maternal sensitivity and psychological distress.

Conclusions:

Unpredictable maternal sensory signals represent a mechanism by which caregiving influences infant stress response systems.
Findings underscore the importance of consistent maternal signaling for healthy infant HPA axis development.