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Synchrony through touch + Rubriken

28. September 2021
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( Wissenschaftlicher Kontakt
Trinh Nguyen, MSc
Psychologists Trinh Nguyen and Stefanie Höhl from the University of Vienna examined the mutual adaptation of brain Fakultät für Psychologie Institut für
activity and heart rhythms of mother and child.(© Trinh Nguyen) Psychologie der Entwicklung und
Bildung
Universität Wien
1010 - Wien, Liebiggasse 5
Study examines the role of touch and proximity on the mutual adaptation of brain activity and
+43-1-4277-474 68
heart rhythms in mothers and babies [email protected]

Touch is fundamental to interpersonal communication. Until recently, it was unclear how affectionate
Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Psych. Dr. Stefanie
touch and physical contact affect the brain activity and heart rhythms of mothers and babies. Höhl
Developmental psychologists Trinh Nguyen and Stefanie Höhl from the University of Vienna have
Vizedekanin - Fakultät für Psychologie
investigated this question in a recent study. Brain activities between mothers and babies were Institut für Psychologie der Entwicklung
synchronized - especially when they had close physical contact and when the mother stroked the und Bildung
baby lovingly. The heart rhythms of mothers and babies were attuned when they played together. The Universität Wien
study is currently published in the journal NeuroImage. 1010 - Wien, Liebiggasse 5
+43-1-4277-474 70
Affectionate touch and bodily contact create social connections and can reduce stress. In romantic [email protected]

couples, this positive effect has been linked to a mutual alignment of brain activity and heart rhythms.
Since touch is a fundamental mode of communication between caregiver and infant, Trinh Nguyen, ( Rückfragehinweis
Stefanie Höhl and colleagues from the US asked whether proximity and touch also contribute to the Pia Gärtner, MA
attunement of brain and heart rhythms between mother and baby.
Pressebüro der Universität Wien
Universität Wien
In the new study, four to six-month-old babies played and watched videos together with their mothers. 1010 - Wien, Universitätsring 1
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure brain activity while +43-1-4277-17541
electrocardiography (ECG) was used to simultaneously assess the heart rhythms of mother and baby. [email protected]
With fNIRS, changes in oxygen saturation are recorded in the outermost layer of the brain - here in
particular in the frontal brain. Activation in this region is associated with mutual emotional attunement,
attentiveness and self-regulation. These processes are particularly relevant for social interactions and
develop during the Prst years.

The results showed that mother-baby pairs mutually adjusted their brain activity, especially when they
touched each other. Mutual neural adjustment occurred when the mother held the baby close to her
body and both watched a video together, and when they played together face-to-face and the mother
lovingly touched the baby, e.g., by kissing, stroking and gentle massage. The new study demonstrates
that touch plays a fundamental role in the early adaptation of brain activity between mothers and
infants. An adaptation of heart rhythms was also shown when mother and baby played together, but it
was independent of touch. In the case of the heartbeat, a mutual adaptation was particularly evident
when babies signalled discomfort, which was presumably transmitted to the mothers.

In future studies, Trinh Nguyen and Stefanie Höhl want to investigate how the mutual attunement in
brain activity and heart rhythms affects child development in the long term. In particular, the later
relationship between mother and child, as well as children’s language development, will be investigated
in follow-up studies.

Publication in NeuroImage:
Nguyen, T., Abney, D. H., Salamander, D., Bertenthal, B. I., & Hoehl, S. (2021). Proximity and touch are
associated with neural but not physiological synchrony in naturalistic mother-infant interactions.
NeuroImage, 244, 118599. DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118599

( Wissenschaftlicher Kontakt

Trinh Nguyen, MSc

Fakultät für Psychologie Institut für Psychologie der Entwicklung und Bildung
Universität Wien
1010 - Wien, Liebiggasse 5
+43-1-4277-474 68
[email protected]

Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Psych. Dr. Stefanie Höhl

Vizedekanin - Fakultät für Psychologie Institut für Psychologie der Entwicklung und Bildung
Universität Wien
1010 - Wien, Liebiggasse 5
+43-1-4277-474 70
[email protected]

( Rückfragehinweis

Pia Gärtner, MA
Pressebüro der Universität Wien
Universität Wien
1010 - Wien, Universitätsring 1
+43-1-4277-17541
[email protected]

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Mother and child © Trinh Nguyen ) Download

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