The Neuroscience of Calming a Baby
New study explains why babies calm down when they are carried.
Every parent and caregiver knows from first hand experience that babies calm down when they are picked up, gently rocked, and carried around the room. New research published in the journal Current Biology on April 18, 2013 shows that this is a universal phenomenon. Infants experience an automatic calming reaction when they are being carried, whether they are mouse pups or human babies.
According to this study, when a baby is held a calming response is experienced in the parasympatheic nervous system and a part of the brain called the cerebellum. The cerebellum sits at the very back and bottom of our brains and manages things like breathing, heart rate, balance and movement.