Characteristic Neurobiological Patterns Differentiate Paternal Responsiveness in Two &lt;i&gt;Peromyscus&lt;/i&gt; Species

Lambert, Kelly G.; Franssen, Catherine L.; Bardi, Massimo; Hampton, Joseph E.; Hainley, Leslie; Karsner, Stephanie; Tu, Eddie B.; Hyer, Molly M.; Crockett, Ashly; Baranova, Anya; Ferguson, Tajh; Ferguson, Tenaj; Kinsley, Craig Howard

doi:10.1159/000326054

Cited by 51 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 113 publications

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“…Such human nurturance, whether related to parenting or other forms of committed caregiving, may support the ancient and widespread practice of "alloparental caregiving." Our results are also consistent with animal research suggesting that caregiving experiences, exposure to offspring, and accompanying hormonal changes involve structural and functional changes in the father's brain (4,7,8).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Although functional amygdala-STS connectivity was observed only in primary-caregiving fathers, among all fathers, the overlap between the two structures correlated with the father's direct caregiving experiences. These findings coincide with biparental animals' greater integration of multiple brain networks (7). Both the amygdala and STS are key structures of the social brain circuitry (15,31,32).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…In addition to consistency, substantial malleability was found in the human paternal brain, which resembles the plasticity observed in other biparental mammals (1,7,8). Whereas primarycaregiving mothers showed higher subcortical activation and secondary-caregiving fathers exhibited greater activation in cortical socio-cognitive circuits, brain malleability with caregiving experience in primary-caregiving fathers involved the coactivation of these two networks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…Involved fathering has been linked with children's long-term physiological and social development and with increases in mothers' caregivingrelated hormones such as oxytocin and prolactin (3)(4)(5)(6). In addition, animal studies demonstrated structural brain alterations in caregiving fathers (7,8). It has been suggested that, although maternal caregiving is triggered by neurobiological processes related to pregnancy and labor, the human father's brain, similar to other biparental mammals, adapts to the parental role through active involvement in childcare (1)(2)(3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall, these findings suggest that distinct brain-hormonebehavior pathways may underpin maternal and paternal care; therefore, oxytocin and parenting behavior may be associated with the emotional processing network in mothers but with the socio-cognitive circuit in fathers. Furthermore, animal studies indicate that active caregiving in biparental fathers leads to greater integration of multiple brain networks involved in nurturance, learning, and motivation (7). Hence, active involvement in caregiving may possibly facilitate integration of both parenting-related networks in human fathers, particularly among those who undertake the primary caregiver role.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Father's brain is sensitive to childcare experiences

Abraham

Hendler

Shapira‐Lichter

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

242

274

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Although contemporary socio-cultural changes dramatically increased fathers' involvement in childrearing, little is known about the brain basis of human fatherhood, its comparability with the maternal brain, and its sensitivity to caregiving experiences. We measured parental brain response to infant stimuli using functional MRI, oxytocin, and parenting behavior in three groups of parents (n = 89) raising their firstborn infant: heterosexual primarycaregiving mothers (PC-Mothers), heterosexual secondary-caregiving fathers (SC-Fathers), and primary-caregiving homosexual fathers (PC-Fathers) rearing infants without maternal involvement. Results revealed that parenting implemented a global "parental caregiving" neural network, mainly consistent across parents, which integrated functioning of two systems: the emotional processing network including subcortical and paralimbic structures associated with vigilance, salience, reward, and motivation, and mentalizing network involving frontopolar-medial-prefrontal and temporo-parietal circuits implicated in social understanding and cognitive empathy. These networks work in concert to imbue infant care with emotional salience, attune with the infant state, and plan adequate parenting. PC-Mothers showed greater activation in emotion processing structures, correlated with oxytocin and parent-infant synchrony, whereas SC-Fathers displayed greater activation in cortical circuits, associated with oxytocin and parenting. PC-Fathers exhibited high amygdala activation similar to PC-Mothers, alongside high activation of superior temporal sulcus (STS) comparable to SC-Fathers, and functional connectivity between amygdala and STS. Among all fathers, time spent in direct childcare was linked with the degree of amygdala-STS connectivity. Findings underscore the common neural basis of maternal and paternal care, chart brain-hormone-behavior pathways that support parenthood, and specify mechanisms of brain malleability with caregiving experiences in human fathers.mothering | parent-infant interaction | alloparental care | transition to parenthood | social brain

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Father's brain is sensitive to childcare experiences

Abraham

Hendler

Shapira‐Lichter

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

242

274

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Structural and Functional Plasticity in the Maternal Brain Circuitry

Pereira¹

2016

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

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Parenting recruits a distributed network of brain structures (and neuromodulators) that coordinates caregiving responses attuned to the young's affect, needs, and developmental stage. Many of these structures and connections undergo significant structural and functional plasticity, mediated by the interplay between maternal hormones and social experience while the reciprocal relationship between the mother and her infant forms and develops. These alterations account for the remarkable behavioral plasticity of mothers. This review will examine the molecular and neurobiological modulation and plasticity through which parenting develops and adjusts in new mothers, primarily discussing recent findings in nonhuman animals. A better understanding of how parenting impacts the brain at the molecular, cellular, systems/network, and behavioral levels is likely to significantly contribute to novel strategies for treating postpartum neuropsychiatric disorders in new mothers, and critical for both the mother's physiological and mental health and the development and well-being of her young.

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Plasticity of the paternal brain: Effects of fatherhood on neural structure and function

Horrell

Acosta

Saltzman

2021

Developmental Psychobiology

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Care of infants is a hallmark of mammals. Whereas parental care by mothers is obligatory for offspring survival in virtually all mammals, fathers provide care for their offspring in only an estimated 5%–10% of genera. In these species, the transition into fatherhood is often accompanied by pronounced changes in males’ behavioral responses to young, including a reduction in aggression toward infants and an increase in nurturant behavior. The onset of fatherhood can also be associated with sensory, affective, and cognitive changes. The neuroplasticity that mediates these changes is not well understood; however, fatherhood can alter the production and survival of new neurons; function and structure of existing neurons; morphology of brain structures; and neuroendocrine signaling systems. Although these changes are thought to promote infant care by fathers, very little evidence exists to support this hypothesis; in most cases, neither the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity in fathers nor its functional significance is known. In this paper, we review the available data on the neuroplasticity that occurs during the transition into fatherhood. We highlight gaps in our knowledge and future directions that will provide key insights into how and why fatherhood alters the structure and functioning of the male brain.

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Characteristic Neurobiological Patterns Differentiate Paternal Responsiveness in Two <i>Peromyscus</i> Species

Cited by 51 publications

References 113 publications

Father's brain is sensitive to childcare experiences

Father's brain is sensitive to childcare experiences

Structural and Functional Plasticity in the Maternal Brain Circuitry

Plasticity of the paternal brain: Effects of fatherhood on neural structure and function

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