Middle-brain region linked to emotion control likely prompts females to kill their young

A middle-brain region tied to the control of emotions likely prompts females to kill their young, a new study in mice shows. With the region also present in humans, the study authors say the findings could play a similar role in better understanding infanticide by women.

Before giving birth for the first time, female mice are known to often kill others’ pups. This behavior may have evolved to preserve scarce food supplies for their own future offspring, according to experts. However, most studies have focused on infanticide by adult males, and the brain mechanism behind this…