Recently, Prof. Barrett was featured in the News@Northeastern in an article entitled, “How Humans Bond: The Brain Chemistry Revealed.” The article discusses her new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that found, for the first time, that the neurotransmitter dopamine is involved in human bonding, bringing the brain’s reward system into our understanding of how we form human attachments. Through a study of mother-infant pairs, the research set out to uncover the neurological underpinnings of the parent-child bond, also called “synchrony.”

Prof. Barrett says these findings, “have the potential to reveal how the social environment impacts the developing brain.” She says, “people’s future health, mental and physical, is affected by the kind of care they receive when they are babies. If we want to invest wisely in the health of our country, we should concentrate on infants and children, eradicating the adverse conditions that interfere with brain development.”

To learn more about Prof. Barrett’s research, check out the article here.