Mothers are said to hold a special lifelong place in their children's hearts, but it also appears they have a unique significance in their brains too.
Scientists have discovered that when adults look at their mothers' faces, it triggers a stronger response in the brain than when they look at pictures of strangers - or even of their fathers.
Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines, the researchers measured the brain activity of volunteers as they were shown photographs of their parents, strangers and celebrities.
When images of the participants' mothers were shown to them, the scientists found that it "lit up" key areas, associated with recognition and emotion.
The findings suggest that mothers produce a complex and lasting emotional and cognitive response in their children's brain, as a result of the bonding experience that takes place between them and their children, as babies.
Scientists believe the findings shed new light on the extent to which humans experience "imprinting" - a phenomenon observed in many birds and animals in which youngsters form very strong attachments to the first creature they see after being born.
As a result, the youngsters follow their mother around and can rapidly learn from her characteristics and behaviour, which are said to be "imprinted" on them.
Human babies do not undergo such rapid imprinting, but many scientists believe the bond between mother and child can have crucial implications in later life and even into adulthood.
The new study, which is reported in the scientific journal Brain and Cognition, involved 20 volunteers with an average age of 35.
Read more at The Telegraph
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