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Maternal care affects brain chemistry in adulthood
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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The action of neuropeptide Y depends on maternal behavior during infancy. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most abundant peptide hormone in the central nervous system. It is involved in a variety of processes, including stress management, anxiety development, and weight regulation.
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg have demonstrated in mice that maternal care in early childhood promotes the synthesis of NPY in the brain. As a result of receiving care, the animals were less anxious in adulthood and weighed more than their counterparts who received less love. The research team was able to show that this effect is explained by maternal care, which stimulated the permanent formation of certain NPY receptors in the brain.
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) plays several key roles in complex brain circuits. Neuropeptide Y not only influences body weight, but also controls the development of anxiety and stress responses. Consequently, NPY plays an important role in the development of mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. NPY acts in the brain by binding to NPY receptors on neurons. The hormone triggers signaling cascades that control various physical functions.
In the study, Rolf Sprengel of the Max Planck Institute in Italy and his colleagues showed that the effects of NPY depended on how much attention and care young mice received during the first three weeks of life. Animals that received little care from their mothers were more preoccupied in adulthood than their counterparts who received intense attention in the first weeks of life. They also remained more resilient to various stressors throughout life. The scientists found that maternal behavior influenced the formation of NPY1 receptors in the limbic system, the area of the brain responsible for processing emotions.
"We were able to show that the activity of NPY1 receptors in the limbic system of young animals increases as a result of maternal care," explains Rolf Sprengel. "Maternal love ensures their healthy development in the long term." The positive effect of maternal care and attention is demonstrated by the fact that the young animals gained weight faster and demonstrated greater boldness in behavioral experiments, compared to rodents that received little warmth after birth.
These results of neuroscientists "will help us to achieve a better understanding of how maternal care in the early period of an organism's life can influence it in later life. "The results of the study show how maternal love and attention has a lasting effect on the chemistry of the limbic system," says Rolf Sprengel. Thus, maternal behavior can influence emotions and physical condition in adulthood.
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