Michael Numan and Marilyn Numan of Boston College have shown that a part of the hypothalamus in the female brain, the medial preoptic area (mPOA), is largely responsible for this activity;

• 波士顿学院的努曼夫妇（MichaelandMarilynNuman）发现，雌性动物脑中，下视丘的内侧视前区（mPOA），是控制母性行为的主要脑区。