Abstract:

Infant cry is the most obvious signal during infancy. The interaction of infant’s cry and adults' reaction (including physiological reaction, caregiving behavior and perceptional reaction) is the communication base ground between infant and adult. Thalamocingulate circuit functions as the main neural mechanism relating to procession of infant cries by adults, meanwhile brain regions which relevant to cognitive activity (such as empathy, motivation, social bonding and attachment etc.) would also contribute in a certain extent to this procession. In addition, there are significantly individual differences in adults' reaction to infant cry. Future studies should go further in disclosing the special relationship between infant cry and adult reaction by FMRI or ERP technology, and exploring the relationship between maternal love and infant cry on the basis of the individual differences.

Key words: infant cry, acoustic variable, caregiving behavior, brain mechanism, individual difference