Figure 3.

Peripheral oxytocin and related brain activation in response to infant cues. (a) Mothers with Type B (secure) attachment patterns show a greater peripheral oxytocin response during an episode of physical interaction with their infant (mean ± sem; Bonferroni corrected comparison at free play time point, P = 0.01). The first baseline sample was collected 20 minutes after mother-infant separation; the second immediately after a 5-minute “free-play” involving direct physical contact between the mother and infant. The third sample was after a modified still-face procedure, in which the mother was in direct visual and auditory contact with her infant (via a mirror) but was physically separated by a screen divider. The final sample was collected after a further 20-minute period of complete mother-infant separation. (b) Compared to Type A mothers, Type B mothers show greater activation of the hypothalamus/pituitary region in response to own vs. unknown infant face images (all affect groups combined) (mean beta ± sem, t = 4.2, P = 0.0003). The whole brain analysis threshold was q(FDR) < 0.05; P < 0.002. Structural brain image created from average of all subjects. Inset of magnified hypothalamic/pituitary region (single subject image to improve anatomical clarity). (c) Peripheral oxytocin response correlates with activation of hypothalamus/pituitary region in response to neutral own infant face cues (r_S = 0.60, P = 0.001). A single outlying value was omitted from the graph, but not the statistical calculations.