One of the challenges of translating the rodent models to human (and non-human primate) development is to identify the pattern of parenting that might serve a function similar to “licking and grooming.” While this might be physical contact, including “massage,” in our model we have chosen to emphasize caregiver sensitivity and responsiveness to the infant’s signals. The reason for this adjustment is that the human data indicate that attachment security is a critical “buffer” of HPA axis reactivity in infants and young children (Gunnar et al., 1996; Suomi, 1997), and secure attachment emerges out of a history of sensitive and responsive caregiver-infant relationships (Susman-Stillman et al., 1996).
