Men's and women's brains react differently to infant crying.
A new study from the National Institutes of Health confirms that men's and women’s brains are wired differently when it comes to how they react to the cries of a baby.
18 men and women who participated in the study were told to relax while they listened to a variation of white noise, silence and an infant crying for fifteen minutes.
Their brain activity during the study was measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging scans.
In both parents and non-parents, the sound of an infant crying caused the women’s brain to change to an attentive mode rather than resting, while the men’s brains remained in a restful state while hearing the cries.
The same research team also found that the cries of an autistic baby are higher pitched, and both men and women were more attentive to the high pitched cries.
Co-author of the study Doctor Marc H. Bornstein said: “Previous studies have shown that, on an emotional level, men and women respond differently to the sound of an infant crying. Our findings indicate that men and women show marked differences in terms of attention as well.”
