We look at five scientific reasons you will always be attached to your Mum, and why she’s attached to you.

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No two mothers are alike. However, through a scientific lens, there are some amazing similarities when we look at the relationships we have with our mothers.

Evolution has shaped generations of mothers, and their relationships with their children. Mums might frustrate us at times, and we almost certainly frustrate our mothers, but scientists have shown the genetic inheritance we receive from our mothers goes far beyond the X chromosome they pass on. 

Children also have measurable effects on their mothers - the relationship goes both ways.

Of course, there are many wonderful ways to be a mother outside of the biological relationship; there just aren’t enough studies completed yet on the families that we choose.

One: Mum makes our brain light up.

Somehow, you can always hear your mum yelling for you across a crowded room. Scientists have found that children uniquely respond to the sound of their mother’s voice.

A 2016 study at the Stanford University School of medicine showed that children are more engaged when they hear their mother’s voice, and that the sound of her voice activates very specific parts of their brains.

The team scanned the brains of children listening to either their mother’s voice or another woman’s voice. When children heard their mother speak, the parts of the brain related to emotion and reward, social functioning, relevance detection and face recognition all were activated.

It was already understood that a mother’s voice brings her child emotional comfort, however this study showed a biological circuit that could be linked to the experience.

Your mum gets instant access to many parts of your brain system.

We share cells with our mothers during pregnancy - so we have a bit of Mum, and she has a bit of us.

Two: A special chemical puts the female brain into ‘Mum’ mode.

Ever looked at someone else’s baby and had no maternal feelings? That is likely to change if you have your own baby.

A 2014 study on mice showed that the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin flips the female brain into a maternal state.

The study is based on the fact that, on both sides of the mouse auditory cortex, there are oxytocin receptors and oxytocin-producing neurons. The research team hypothesised these receptors and their proximity to the hearing system could explain why mice — and human mothers — quickly respond to the sounds of their children. 

Injecting oxytocin into the left auditory cortex of female mice who’d never had children immediately caused them to respond to the calls of baby mice. The surge of oxytocin seemed to transform their behavior and their interpretation to social cues, which the scientists think also happens to new human mothers, when their brains get flooded with the chemical.

Three: We inherit some of our mother’s fears.

Scientists have found that a mother’s fear responses could be passed down to their children just by limited exposure to whatever stimulates the fear response. 

In a 2014 experiment, female rats were conditioned to fear the smell of peppermint, with small electric shocks. When their pups were born, they too were exposed to the peppermint smell but were not given a shock. The pups were still afraid when exposed to peppermint, even when their mother wasn’t present. They concluded this may explain why certain phobias can sometimes be passed down from mothers to children.

Four: Baby’s brain gets a boost from Mum’s heartbeat.

Our brains are not only activated by the sound of our mother’s voice but also actually grow because of it. 

Twenty premature babies, who had spent more time in an incubator than with their mums, were studied as the sound of their mother’s voice and heartbeat were pumped into the incubators with tiny speakers. The babies, each born between eight to fifteen weeks early, listened to these recordings three times a day for thirty days, while a control group didn’t. 

The experimental group developed significantly larger auditory cortexes than the control group. In other words, sounds from their mothers actually made parts of their brains grow.

Five: We shared cells with our mother.

We know we inherit genes from our mother, but while we’re growing in the womb we also pass on some of our genetic material to her.

As a mother’s placenta grows it attaches to her arteries, creating a two-way channel. Foetal material is sucked through this channel into Mum’s bloodstream, meaning her growing baby’s cells are entering her body to be used.

A 2015 study published in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction found that tissue samples of women during pregnancy and after just after birth of a boy, had male cells in their brains, heart and kidneys. Approximately one cell out of every 1,000 was male.

At first, scientists thought the presence of these foetal cells in mothers could lead to the development of autoimmune disorders. However, more recently scientists have found these cells actually help mums be healthy, and decrease the likelihood of mum developing cancer and cardiovascular disease.

And while you helped your mum be healthy as you were developing, cells from your mum crossed the placenta into your developing body, meaning that you have some of her cells as well.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mums out there, whether biological or chosen.

Need some last minute inspiration for making mum feel special today?

Treat Mum to a special lunch out, so she doesn’t have to cook, and you don’t have to clean up the dishes afterwards. Olivers in Clyde has the fire on, and its a perfect place for a rainy day today.

Give Mum a pamper pack to enjoy at her leisure. Harmony Skin, Beauty and Spa are giving you the opportunity to design your own spa treatment for mum. Click on to send a voucher to mum now :)

Feet up, good book. Is this how your Mum likes to spoil herself, putting her feet up with a good book? Paper Plus in Alexandra has something for every mum and is open this morning.

Whatever you do, make your mum feel special on Sunday, and every day.

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