Infant–mother matrix as a source of mental organization in the infant: Contributions from the neurophysiology of nursing

Neurophysiological phenomena that parallel the incipient mental organization of the infant are so far practically unknown. In this paper, electroencephalographic findings obtained by the author's research team on infant brain activity in connection with breast (and bottle) feeding are reviewed. The neurophysiological processes activated by feeding are regulated from the subcortical centers, but also give rise to activity in the somato-sensory cortical areas, especially in the large area representing the mouth. Nursing thus reinforces the connectivity between deep brain centers and the cortex. The ensuing process, based on infant–mother interaction, corresponds in a natural way to Freud's conception of early body ego formation, which he assumed to develop from the psychic projection of body surface stimulation. In contemporary terms, the same process can be expressed as the formation in the infant of an incipient mental image, based on neurophysiological processes, and representing the nursing procedures.