A two-decade study found that hugs actually have powers. Direct contact between the bodies of mother and child – skin to skin – would promote the development of better empathy in adulthood.
According to an Israeli study published in the journal PNAS on February 22, 2021, cuddling your child will make him a more empathetic adult . For no less than twenty years, scientists have followed a hundred people. This follow-up began at the birth of the child until adulthood. Thus, they were able to measure the effects that hugs could have had on children from the beginning of their existence . Let's also mention the fact that the researchers specified that the children in question lived in two-parent families whose incomes were above the poverty line.
In order to measure the effects of mother-infant physical contact, the study leaders divided the volunteers into three distinct groups . In the first group, we find babies born at term, in good health and having had many physical contacts with their mother. The second group involved premature babies who had been incubated and had no contact with their mother for at least two weeks. Finally, the third group brought together more stable premature births. In the latter group, the mothers had skin-to-skin contact for at least an hour each day for two weeks.
According to the researchers, the results showed that the contact between mothers and their babies allowed social synchronization . However, this synchronization continued throughout development, from infancy to adulthood. In addition, the leaders of the study also observed the activation of two areas of the brain in particular.
The amygdala (or amygdala complex) is a paired nucleus located in the antero-medial region of the temporal lobe. This is involved in the recognition and evaluation of the emotional valence of sensory stimuli. It is neither more nor less than the center of identification unconscious of the emotions . Let us also mention the insula (or insular cortex), one of the two lobes of the brain located in an internal position and forming part of the cerebral cortex. This is the area where individuals integrate signals from their own body with signals of the emotional state of others.
Scientists have explained that the first social synchronizations begin as early as three months of age and continue throughout life. Obviously, this suggests the extreme importance of having loving and nurturing parents. Finally, the study only concerned the mother-child relationship, but the researchers indicated that fathers taking care of their child could also generate positive effects on their future empathy.
