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Inventing the Future: Monell scientists help analyze 'new baby smell'

Flying Kite Staff | Tuesday, October 08, 2013

The Monell Chemical Senses Center -- profiled here in Flying Kite -- was instrumental in a study that examined the power of "new baby smell."

Researchers asked 30 women -- 15 who had recently given birth, and 15 who had never given birth -- to identify mystery scents while their brain activity was monitored. When given the smell of newborns taken from pajamas, the women all showed activity in the same dopamine pathways that light up after ingesting cocaine, enjoying food, or other reward-inducing behavior...

Johan Lundström, a biologist with the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and a study author, believes that women’s brains are hardwired this way to provide an evolutionary incentive. "We think that this is part of a mechanism to focus the mother’s attention toward the baby," he said. "When you interact with the baby, you feel rewarded." A similar process may apply to men as well, Dr. Lundström said, though he lacks the data to prove it.

Original source: The New York Times
Read the complete story here.

The University City Science Center has partnered with Flying Kite to showcase innovation in Greater Philadelphia through the "Inventing the Future" series.

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Inventing the Future: Monell scientists help analyze 'new baby smell'

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