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Abstract

The ability to distinguish between emotional expressions is a crucial building block for proper, normative social functioning. By making meaning from others’ nonverbal expressions, one can infer affective states and intentions, predict future behavior, and plan one’s own behavior accordingly. Differences arise both between and within individuals in their emotion processing abilities, and oftentimes, atypical emotion perception is associated with maladaptive functioning. It is unclear what factors may mediate the perception of emotion, giving rise to the differences observed in children and adults. There is strong evidence to suggest that infants develop this skill at a very early age, within the first year of life. It is therefore of great importance to investigate influential factors on emotion perception in infancy. One compelling candidate is the oxytocin system. We know that oxytocin can mediate emotional processing in adults. Very fittingly, infants vary immensely with regard to early oxytocin exposure. Lactation is a highly conserved element of maternal care, characterized by tremendous levels of oxytocin in both mothers and offspring. In the current thesis, I have thus assembled these reflections into a single question: Does the experience of breastfeeding, through its interaction with the oxytocin system, impact emotion perception?