Early intimate interactions between mothers and their infants are characterised by mutuality and reciprocity. Although a great deal is known about the distal processes such as gaze and affect, by concentrating on touch this research addresses a key aspect of early life interactions that has received far less attention. this research comprises a single major quasi-experimental and observational longitudinal study, exploring the naturalistic interactions between mothers and their full-term infants (n=32). Dyads were videotaped in their own homes at five age points across the first year - 6 weeks, 3,6,9,12 months. A contextual variation was introduced at 6 months by providing a selection of novel toys for the dyads to play with. Each second of a selected 5 minute period of interaction of both free and toy play contexts were coded using a coding schedule for the type of touch, location of touch, intensity of touch, gaze direction and affectual displays. Repeated measures of analyses of variance revealed differences in the duration and locations of touch, and changes in maternal and infant affect and gaze across the first year. Patterns in these non-verbal communicative strategies were shaped by both age and context. Results revealed that overall maternal touch decreased over the first year of life and the mothers used more passive than active forms of touch when interacting with their infants. The duration of gaze at face decreased for mothers and infants over time, while gaze at body and object increased. Infant initiated touch was both low in frequency and duration but showed commonalities across dyads. The results are discussed drawing on insights from ethology, attachment theory, systems theory and the complexity of the multimodal features of interactive exchange. The results underscore the implications for tactile stimulation in early patterns of communication.

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Recent studies support the hypothesis that oxytocin plays an important role in mother-infant interactions. The aim of the present research was to investigate the connection between Maternal Affect Attunement and levels of oxytocin in mothers and infants during early mother-infant communication, and to explore the relationship between maternal and infants' oxytocin levels. Forty three mother-infant dyads participated in the present study when infants were four months. They were observed in three conditions: 1) Baseline - where no communication took place, 2) Natural Interaction between mother and infant and 3) Modified Interactions - where natural interaction between mothers and infants was disrupted in various ways. During this procedure four saliva samples from mothers and their infants were collected to determine their levels of oxytocin at different time points. To assess individual maternal interactive style Maternal Affect Attunement (Maintaining Attention, Warm Sensitivity) was coded during the Natural Interaction. Results indicated that maternal and infants' oxytocin levels were stable at the four collection points. Maternal oxytocin levels at all collection points as well as overall mean oxytocin level were negatively related to her Warm Sensitivity. Significant positive synchronized as...