How Grandmothers’ Brains React to the Sight of Their Grandchildren


This shows a grandmother holding her baby grandsonBrain scans of grandmothers taken when viewing photos of their grandchildren revealed greater activation in brain areas associated with emotional empathy, suggesting grandmothers are geared towards feeling what their grandchild is feeling when interacting with them. By contrast, when viewing images of their adult children, brain areas associated with cognitive empathy become activated.