Calming Cycle Theory
![Calming cycle theory proposes that early emotional behavior is shaped by autonomic co‐conditioning between mother and infant.](https://nspproduction.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/calming_cycle_theory-1024x576.jpg)
Martha G. Welch, MD, Director of the Nurture Science Program, published a viewpoint article in Acta Paediatrica that explains Calming Cycle Theory and the role of visceral/autonomic learning in early mother and infant/child behavior and development.
Calming Cycle Theory proposes that early emotional behavior is shaped by visceral/autonomic co-conditioning between mother and infant. Two new constructs, emotional connection and visceral/autonomic co-regulation, are defined within a functional Pavlovian conditioning framework and are theorized to be part of an evolutionary conserved mammalian phenomenon.