Dr. Regina Sullivan, neurobiologist at New York University Langone Medical Center, is the first to prove that a mother’s physical presence alone is sufficient to reduce an infant’s pain level. The research also indicates that a mother’s soothing and comforting behavior toward her child produces genetic changes in the region of the brain responsible for controlling emotions.
A mother’s presence reduces the number of genes that are activated by pain by as much as 300 percent and possibly more. Comforting behavior physically changed how genes involved with emotions and the expression of emotion developed in early infancy. The study and chemical analysis were done with rats but the similarity in structure and function between the amygdala in rat brains and human brains as well as a similarity in genetics may translate to humans.
The research presents a new conundrum in the treatment of infants that are experiencing severe pain. A mother’s physical presence can reduce pain. The length of time a mother is present and the effect of long-term comforting on emotional development and maturity in humans is not yet known. One objective of the research was to eliminate or moderate the use of addictive opiates in the treatment of pain in infants. The pain reduction response to a mother’s presence and soothing is limited in duration.
This is the first physical proof that a mother’s presence alone is sufficient to reduce pain in infants. Comforting and soothing of an infant that is in pain were also found to reduce pain. The discovery of changes in the genes that control emotion and emotional expression that result from comforting behaviors is totally new.
