Scientifically: Grandmothers are more attached to their grandchildren than their sons
In the first study of its kind, researchers have found scientific proof of what many of the lucky ones who lived with their grandmothers originally touched, which is that they have a strong instinct to protect their grandchildren, and biological ingredients that make them relate to them.
Compared to the results of the study on fathers, the researchers noted that regions associated with emotional empathy were more intensely activated in grandmothers' brains when it came to grandchildren.
Most people tend to think that grandmothers have more compassion for their grandchildren than their children.
This belief has become a scientific fact, as researchers confirmed that in a study they conducted, they proved what many of the lucky ones who lived with their grandmothers had originally touched, which is that they have a strong instinct to protect their grandchildren, and biological ingredients that make them relate to them.
A new study published in the journal Proceedings Bee uncovers a neural explanation for this intergenerational link.
Researchers at Emory University in the US state of Georgia conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis of the brains of 50 grandmothers who showed them pictures of their grandchildren, aged between three and 12 years.
They were also shown, for comparison, pictures of children they did not know, one of their children who had become an adult, and an unknown adult.
The study's lead author, anthropologist and neuroscientist James Rilling, told AFP that the grandmothers "actually felt what their grandson in the photo seemed to feel."
They rejoiced if the grandson in the picture looked happy, and they were upset if he seemed upset.”
He added that the images "activate the areas of the brain involved in empathy, and other parts involved in movement."
The same brain regions are also active in mothers, and this is interpreted as related to an instinct that causes the mother to communicate or interact with her child.
Conversely, when the grandmothers viewed pictures of their adult children, the researchers observed intense activity in areas related to perceptual association, such as seeking to understand what their children were thinking or feeling and why, without much emotional interaction, meaning that the mind prevails in this case.
These results can be linked in part, according to James Rilling, to the likable shape of children, a scientifically known phenomenon in which humans share with a number of organisms, and that would provoke a response related to protection.
James Rilling, who had previously conducted research on fathers, wanted to focus on grandmothers to explore a theory in anthropology known as the "grandmother's hypothesis".
According to this theory, evolution has made women live longer - and long after they have lost the ability to reproduce - so that they can take care of subsequent generations.
The researcher explained that it is "the first time that (this aspect) of the grandmothers' brains has been studied."
Studies of their brains are often related to diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The grandmothers in the study came from a variety of ethnic and social backgrounds.
Compared to the results of the study on fathers, James Rilling noted that generally, regions associated with empathy were activated most intensely in grandmothers' brains.
But he stressed that this is only rates that can vary between individuals.
The scientist also asked all the participants about the difficulties and benefits they see as being grandmothers.
It turns out that differences of opinion with parents about child rearing are the most common.
Many said they felt they could be more present with their grandchildren than they were with their sons, as they had more time and financial constraints.
He noted that a number of them "end up seeing that they enjoy being grandmothers more than mothers."
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