DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS FOR THE IFPA 2010 MEETING IN SANTIAGO, CHILE, HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MAY 28

IFPA Meeting 2010 - Placenta – Fetus and Placenta: A perfect harmony • • 19-22 October 2010 • Santiago, Chile.

- 2010 IFPA Meeting, Santiago, Chile

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Membrane Transport Proteins

Membrane Transport Proteins

August 15-20, 2010
University of New England
Biddeford,Maine, USA

will be held for the 7th time and continue to bring together researchers from many different areas in the field of membrane transport. It is a major goal of the conference to bring together people who do not normally interact and to ensure participation of as many students, post docs and young investigators as possible.

http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2010&program...

Congreso de la Unión Internacional de Ciencias Antropológicas y Etnológicas

From the Crossroads of Civilizations: Understanding Cultural Diversity to Connect Societies

El Congreso de la IUAES tendrá lugar los días 3-6 de Octubre del 2010 en la ciudad turca de Antalya

Se pueden enviar propuestas de ponencias desde el 15 de abril al 1 de julio del 2010. Las propuestas han de enviarse por correo electrónico al comité de la organización. Los autores de las propuestas aceptadas serán notificados el 1 de agosto 2010.

Para más información ir a http://www.iuaes2010.org/

Mother-infant bonds predicted by hormone levels in humans and other mammals

Image: "Mother's Love" by Kolongi Brathwaite
A common tactic by evolution deniers is to claim that if a complex behavior can’t be measured than the scientific method must be a flawed approach towards understanding the world. Nevermind that no one challenges the science of physics just because we can’t predict the complex motions of a leaf in a windstorm. But when it comes to matters of emotion somehow natural explanations are off limits. This is readily apparent in the common argument that, “if you think biology is such a good explanation of behavior, then prove that your mother loves you.” However, as it turns out, we can address this challenge of motherly love and demonstrate a plausible scientific explanation by measuring the levels of the important hormones involved.

Writing in the current issue of Psychological Science (subscription required), Ruth Feldman and colleagues at the Gonda Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University in Israel have found evidence that neuroendocrine levels of the hormone oxytocin is a strong predictor of a mother’s bond with her infant. By sampling the blood oxytocin levels of 62 pregnant women (of all educational and employment backgrounds) the researchers found that oxytocin levels remained consistent throughout their pregnancy but differed substantially between the women. By then analyzing video footage of the mothers’ interactions with their infants (which included analysis of how often they gazed at the infant’s face, their amount of affectionate touching, rocking, and how often they spoke in motherese to their child) the researchers found that levels of oxytocin was the major factor in predicting the levels of maternal bonding.

As the authors reported in their study:

The results suggest that the neuroendocrine system associated with bond formation in mammals may play a similar role in humans. OT [oxytocin] was found to be related to a well-defined cluster of maternal behaviors, attachment representations, and a specific maternal behavior that appears across mammalian species . . . These findings lend support to ethological and evolutionary perspectives on human bonding.

Macaque mother with nursing infant.

Image: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
In other words, for all mammals there’s evidence that high levels of oxytocin translate into a feeling of personal attachment with their infant. Earlier studies on oxytocin have shown that the hormone is also involved in pair-bonding and cooperative behavior. For example in the closely related prairie and meadow voles, the former is a pair-bonded species that shows high levels of both maternal and paternal care while the latter are neither pair-bonded nor attentive to their offspring. Work carried out by Thomas Insel at Emory University has shown that oxytocin receptor density is the primary difference between the two species.

As to why some individual’s have high oxytocin levels and others don’t is still an open question. Research on primates and rats has shown that daughters who grew up feeling safe and secure with high levels of parental investment demonstrated the same parental behavior with their offspring. It’s likely that a safe and nurturing environment (with both economic and social support for the mother) would increase a mother’s oxytocin levels and could thereby increase the amount of maternal bonding.

However, it’s important to point out that there is not one “optimal” maternal behavior for all environments. Human mothers respond to their surroundings in the same way that other species do. Whether you’re a mouse living in desert landscape or a woman in an impoverished city center, if an environment is particularly harsh it may well be more adaptive for mothers to show less maternal bonding and thereby raise an infant who will be hardened for a difficult life. It’s also important to point out that while these results are highly significant, there is more than just chemistry that influences a mother’s love. We shouldn’t underemphasize the personal decisions or the cultural influences that a woman encounters that influence her maternal behavior. To do so would be to miss the larger picture and not show our full appreciation for the sacrifices that mothers make.

While many interactions are likely to be involved in maternal behavior (both hormonal and social), this study shows that a mother’s love can be partly quantified and predicted using the tools of the scientific method. More than a final retort to my hypothetical interrogator, what this study shows is how remarkably conservative and elegant the products of natural selection can be. To think that a single hormone is identical across mammalian species and can influence one of the most profound feelings imaginable is an awe inspiring thought. To cop a quote from Darwin himself, there truly is “grandeur in this view of life.”

Reference:

Ruth Feldman, Aron Weller, Orna Zagoory-Sharon and Ari Levine (2007). Evidence for a neuroendocrinological foundation of human affiliation: plasma oxytocin levels across pregnancy and the postpartum period predict mother-infant bonding. Psychological Science 18(11):965-970. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02010.x

ACSM conference on Integrative Physiology of Exercise (IPE)

September 22-25
Integrated Physiology of Exercise Meeting, Miami Beach, FL

Call for Abstracts: American College of Sports Medicine Conference on Integrative Physiology of Exercise

Topics include:

• Discovery and application of integrative exercise physiology: adaptation & performance
• Exercise metabolism: mitochondrial dynamics and substrate regulation
• Exercise, oxidative stress and redox signaling
• Cardiovascular regulation and adaptation during exercise

**Now Accepting Abstracts!**

Abstract Deadline - July 12, 2010

Submit Abstract

View Preliminary Program and Schedule

Register Now (Online)

Registration Form (pdf)

Postdoctoral Position – Cardiovascular Physiology
A Canadian Institutes of Health Research supported postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Rose at Dalhousie University where we are performing cardiac electrophysiology experiments. A variety of techniques are utilized in the laboratory including patch-clamping of isolated cardiomyocytes, in vivo electrocardiography (body surface and intracardiac), optical mapping using voltage sensitive dyes, and molecular biology. A background in cardiac electrophysiology is required. Experience using intracardiac electrophysiology catheters or with high speed optical imaging is highly desired. Salary is commensurate with experience and based on current CIHR guidelines. Applicants should have a PhD degree and send a cover letter, CV and the names/contact information for 2-3 references to: Robert A. Rose, PhD, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, 5850 College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 1X5.
Contact	Robert A. Rose, PhD
Email	robert.rose@dal.ca
Posted	Mar 10 2010
Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.

• 
  Macrophages in Inflammation - IRBB
  25-27 Octubre 2010
  Parc Científic de Barcelona - IRBB
  C/ Baldiri Reixac 10
  Barcelona
  
  Organizado por:
  Antonio Celada - Alberto Mantovani
  
  Contacto:
  Antonio Celada
  info@irbbarcelona.org
  
  Más información:
  http://www.irbbarcelona.org/biomed/macrophages
  Macrophages in Inflammation

The 11th International Congress of the Immunology of Diabetes Society

Dated: October 31(Sun) - November 3(Wed), 2010

Venue:	Songdo Conventia - Ballroom (Meeting Place)
	Sheraton Incheon - Main accomodation
	Best Western Premier Songdo Park Hotel (accomodation)
	BENKIA Premier Songdo Metro Hotel (accomodation)

http://www.ids2010.kr/