According to a study, the bond between mother and daughter is so strong that it even affects the brain

If you ever thought, or someone told you that you look more and more like your mother, it’s probably true. Over time, it is possible to acquire some traits of your mother’s personality or behavior, and this does not happen just by imitation or custom. According to a study, it has to do with the structure of the brain.

O awesome.club wants to explain why your brain and your mother’s brain may be more similar than you think, and how this might affect your behavior.

A magnetic resonance imaging study conducted by the psychiatrist Fumiko Hoeft, at the University of California, San Francisco, found that limbic system characteristics of the brain circuitry were highly likely to be passed from mother to daughter, even more so than from son to son or from father to son (both boys and girls). The research was based on a correlation analysis voxel wise (neuroimaging analysis technique) in a total of 35 healthy families, composed of parents and their biological descendants. Results showed positive associations of regional gray matter volume, including amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, predominantly between mothers and daughters.

Certainly, parents greatly influence their children genetically, environmentally and psychologically, which is known as the “intergenerational effect”. This can also be seen in mood disorders. However, to date, no research has examined the neural basis of these effects in humans. So far, as Dr. Hoeft’s study suggests that the structure of the brain, which is involved in regulating mood, shows specific patterns of transmission through the maternal line. So mothers and daughters could be connected in a deeper way than we thought.

Preliminary results of the study focused mainly on what was found in behavior, that is, disorders that show dysfunction in mood regulation, such as depression. However, in that study, it was found that the significantly greater association between mother and daughter behavior is not just related to negative emotions, but to the way in which the brain processes vital experiences and how it assimilates and resolves them.

If you’ve ever felt like your mom is able to second-guess your thoughts, there might be some truth to that. The scientific answer suggests that the maternal limbic system, which governs emotional regulation and processing, has patterns that can be inherited. This does not mean that mothers are necessarily responsible for their daughters’ depression, but that this inherited trait, combined with other factors such as genes that are not passed on to them, the social environment or life experiences, can trigger a problem. emotional, that is, the transmission to the daughters is only part of the whole.

The ease with which something bothers you, makes you sad or makes you emotional is the result of the forces of nature and the way you educate, according to Dr. Hoeft’s study. However, the way you react to vital stimuli is what connects you deeply to your maternal part.

Undoubtedly, this study provided a potential new tool to better understand depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions, as most of these seem to show patterns of intergenerational transmission. However, Dr. Hoeft recognized certain limits to her research, so she wants to expand it into a larger study, now done with mothers who have experienced or are experiencing depression or anxiety issues.

Think about the strength with which your mother faced difficult situations, problems, or moments. Do you think she could act the same way? If you have a daughter, have you noticed similar behavioral characteristics between you and her? Tell us in the comments section!