The social self in the developing brain.

The notion that the self is fundamentally social in nature and develops through social interactions has a long tradition in philosophy, sociology, and psychology. However, to date, the early development of the social self and its brain bases in infancy has received relatively little attention. This presents a review and synthesis of existing neuroimaging research, showing that infants recruit brain systems, involved in self-processing and social cognition in adults, when responding to self-relevant cues during social interactions.

Genetic variability in the oxytocin system is linked to individual differences in cuddliness among human infants.

Pleasant touch facilitates social interactions, affiliative behavior and emotional bonding, contributing to positive infant and child development. Oxytocin is presumed to play an important role in mediating these effects of pleasant touch on brain, body and behavior. However, little is known about the role the oxytocin system plays in pleasant touch during infancy.

Neural evidence for the subliminal processing of facial trustworthiness in infancy.

Face evaluation is thought to play a vital role in human social interactions. One prominent aspect is the evaluation of facial signs of trustworthiness, which has been shown to occur reliably, rapidly, and without conscious awareness in adults. Recent developmental work indicates that the sensitivity to facial trustworthiness has early ontogenetic origins as it can already be observed in infancy.