--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The areas of the cortex responsible for…" description: "\"“The areas of the cortex responsible for attention and self-regulation develop in response to the emotional interaction with the person whom we may cal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/gabor-mat-1410_american-express_the-areas-of-the-cortex-responsible-for_189121.jpg" --- # The areas of the cortex responsible for attention and… ![“The areas of the cortex responsible for attention and self-regulation develop in response to the emotional interaction with the person whom we may call the mothering figure. Usually this is the birth mother, but it may be another person, male or female, depending on circumstances. The right…” quote by Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/gabor-mat-1410_american-express_the-areas-of-the-cortex-responsible-for_189121.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/gabor-mat-1410_american-express_the-areas-of-the-cortex-responsible-for_189121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/gabor-mat-1410_american-express_the-areas-of-the-cortex-responsible-for_189121.jpg) > ““The areas of the cortex responsible for attention and self-regulation develop in response to the emotional interaction with the person whom we may call the mothering figure. Usually this is the birth mother, but it may be another person, male or female, depending on circumstances. The right hemisphere of the mother’s brain, the side where our unconscious emotions reside, programs the infant’s right hemisphere. In the early months, the most important communications between mother and infant are unconscious ones. Incapable of deciphering the meaning of words, the infant receives messages that are purely emotional. They are conveyed by the mother’s gaze, her tone of voice and her body language, all of which reflect her unconscious internal emotional environment. Anything that threatens the mother’s emotional security may disrupt the developing electrical wiring and chemical supplies of the infant brain’s emotion-regulating and attention-allocating systems. Within minutes following birth, the mother’s odors stimulate the branching of millions of nerve cells in the newborn’s brain. A six-day-old infant can already distinguish the scent of his mother from that of other women. Later on, visual inputs associated with emotions gradually take over as the major influences. By two to seven weeks, the infant will orient toward the mother’s face in preference to a stranger‘s — and also in preference to the father’s, unless the father is the mothering adult. At seventeen weeks, the infant’s gaze follows the mother’s eyes more closely than her mouth movements, thus fixating on what has been called “the visible portion of the mother’s central nervous system.” The infant’s right brain reads the mother’s right brain during intense eye-to-eye mutual gaze interactions. As an article in Scientific American expressed it, “Embryologically and anatomically the eye is an extension of the brain; it is almost as if a portion of the brain were in plain sight.” The eyes communicate eloquently the mother’s unconscious emotional states.”” [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early emotional interactions shape the infant’s brain, influencing attention and emotion regulation throughout life. **In simple terms:** Mother’s emotional cues program infant brain. Key Takeaway Prioritize nurturing emotional environments for children. Themes development attachment neuroscience Mood reflective empathetic Type educational insightful When to use this quote - parenting - early childhood education - therapeutic settings Key Concepts brain plasticity emotional regulation parent‑child bonding Questions to Reflect On - How can caregivers foster secure attachment beyond biological ties? - What role do fathers play in this neural programming? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on biology may overlook cultural and social factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-mother/) [Body language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-language/) [Nervous system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous-system/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Tone Of Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone-of-voice/) ## Related quotes > [“Everyone has had the experience of suddenly feeling intense physiological and psychological shifts internally at trading glances with another person; such shifts can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/everyone-has-had-the-experience-of-suddenly-feeling-intense/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“For example, a newborn’s brain expects faces: even when they are less than ten minutes old, babies will turn toward face-like patterns,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/for-example-a-newborn-s-brain-expects-faces-even-when-they-are-less/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [“I wanted to drop the emotional hammer on Steph and tell her my thought: that I would very much like for her to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-spencer-wendel/i-wanted-to-drop-the-emotional-hammer-on-steph-and-tell-her-my/) Susan Spencer-Wendel > [Stranger to my brothers, what are the reasons that you consider me an outsider? 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She told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erykah-badu/my-first-my-birth-mother-her-name-is-queenie-she-gave-me-a-powerful/) [Erykah Badu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erykah-badu/) > [I dont see myself as unloved because I was given up; I see it as an ultimate act of sacrifice and love on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacee-ballback/i-dont-see-myself-as-unloved-because-i-was-given-up-i-see-it-as-an/) Stacee Ballback > [“The birth of a child is divine miracle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-birth-of-a-child-is-divine-miracle/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I have a lot of respect for my birth mother I know she must have had a lot of love for me to want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hill/i-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-my-birth-mother-i-know-she-must-have-had/) [Faith Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hill/) ## More by Gabor Maté > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The fact is, we in this society are often quite removed from our own emotional reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-fact-is-we-in-this-society-are-often-quite-removed-from-our-own/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Shame is the deepest of the “negative emotions,” a feeling we will do almost anything to avoid. 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Usually this is the birth mother, but it may be another person, male or female, depending on circumstances. The right hemisphere of the mother’s brain, the side where our unconscious emotions reside, programs the infant’s right hemisphere. In the early months, the most important communications between mother and infant are unconscious ones. Incapable of deciphering the meaning of words, the infant receives messages that are purely emotional. They are conveyed by the mother’s gaze, her tone of voice and her body language, all of which reflect her unconscious internal emotional environment. Anything that threatens the mother’s emotional security may disrupt the developing electrical wiring and chemical supplies of the infant brain’s emotion-regulating and attention-allocating systems. Within minutes following birth, the mother’s odors stimulate the branching of millions of nerve cells in the newborn’s brain. A six-day-old infant can already distinguish the scent of his mother from that of other women. Later on, visual inputs associated with emotions gradually take over as the major influences. By two to seven weeks, the infant will orient toward the mother’s face in preference to a stranger‘s — and also in preference to the father’s, unless the father is the mothering adult. At seventeen weeks, the infant’s gaze follows the mother’s eyes more closely than her mouth movements, thus fixating on what has been called “the visible portion of the mother’s central nervous system.” The infant’s right brain reads the mother’s right brain during intense eye-to-eye mutual gaze interactions. 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