Collectively, the present findings support the idea of an adaptive hormonal mechanism that promotes selective attention to babies. Here, we demonstrate that an increased BS was associated with enhanced activation of the IFJ after OT treatment, a brain region implicated in cognitive control and the motivation to act. We also found that OT may modulate selective attention to babies through the recruitment of the reward system. We found a positive correlation between activity in the putamen and attention to baby faces. However, after accounting for endogenous T level, this correlation only remained significant in women with a high T concentration. These results are consistent with our previous findings6 and may indicate that OT possibly compensates high T concentrations and the reduced attention to infant stimuli through an enhancement of the reward value of babies.