"It's got to be like crack" says mother Katrina Lyons, a Houston science teacher and subject in a research project by Scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine. The study focused on the brain reactions of mothers' response to thier smiling babies.
Assistant professor Lane Strathearn, studied the brain reactions of 28 1st-time moms, noting when mothers see their baby smiling, pleasure receptors in the brain are activated. These receptors are usually associated with food, sex or drug addiction.
Although it makes sense that there would be such a bond between mother and child, what's not known is if these brain reactions are instinctive or are they part of socialization. A study observing this effect with fathers has yet to be conducted.