Prolactin's mediative role in male parenting in parentally experienced marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Ziegler, Toni E.; Prudom, Shelley L.; Zahed, Sofia Refetoff; Parlow, A.F.; Wegner, Frederick H.

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.07.012

Cited by 67 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Relevant findings from other mammals are less consistent, with fathers having lower T in some (42)(43)(44)(45) but not all (46)(47)(48) mammalian species in which fathers assist with offspring care. Analogies to bird and other mammalian species are somewhat constrained because humans are not seasonal breeders and have significantly longer interbirth intervals (3-4 y) and slowly developing dependent offspring (49,50).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males

Gettler

McDade

Feranil

et al. 2011

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

432

381

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In species in which males care for young, testosterone (T) is often high during mating periods but then declines to allow for caregiving of resulting offspring. This model may apply to human males, but past human studies of T and fatherhood have been cross-sectional, making it unclear whether fatherhood suppresses T or if men with lower T are more likely to become fathers. Here, we use a large representative study in the Philippines (n = 624) to show that among single nonfathers at baseline (2005) (21.5 ± 0.3 y), men with high waking T were more likely to become partnered fathers by the time of follow-up 4.5 y later (P < 0.05). Men who became partnered fathers then experienced large declines in waking (median: −26%) and evening (median: −34%) T, which were significantly greater than declines in single nonfathers (P < 0.001). Consistent with the hypothesis that child interaction suppresses T, fathers reporting 3 h or more of daily childcare had lower T at follow-up compared with fathers not involved in care (P < 0.05). Using longitudinal data, these findings show that T and reproductive strategy have bidirectional relationships in human males, with high T predicting subsequent mating success but then declining rapidly after men become fathers. Our findings suggest that T mediates tradeoffs between mating and parenting in humans, as seen in other species in which fathers care for young. They also highlight one likely explanation for previously observed health disparities between partnered fathers and single men.challenge hypothesis | human evolution | hormones and behavior | paternal care | reproductive ecology I n male mammals, testosterone (T) stimulates the development and maintenance of traits and behaviors that contribute to male mating effort, including musculature, libido, conspecific aggressivity, and courtship (1-4). Although these T-driven traits factor into mating success, male reproductive fitness in some avian and mammalian species also depends on contributions to offspring care (5, 6). Because time and energy are finite (7), males in these species often face tradeoffs between conflicting behaviors related to mating and parenting. Adjustment of T production has been proposed as a physiological mechanism underlying this tradeoff, with males who focus on mating effort predicted to maintain elevated T, whereas males who cooperate with a female partner and invest in parental care should reduce T production (6,8). This model is well supported by data from a variety of avian species (6, 8), but evidence for its applicability to mammalian species in which males provide direct care is mixed (9). It is presently unclear whether T mediates the tradeoff between mating and parenting effort in human males, who often express paternal care facultatively.Humans have been described as serial monogamists who frequently engage in one or more long-lasting partnerships with females during reproductive life spans that last several decades (10-12). Humans are one of the few mammalian species in which paternal care is relati...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males

Gettler

McDade

Feranil

et al. 2011

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

432

381

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For example, a second homolog of the vasopressin receptor, AVPR2, is situated 5174 kb upstream of the MCW0106 marker. Other interesting genes in the region include NRCAM (involved in neural development and implicated in cognitive function, social behavior and autism (Moy et al 2009;Marui et al 2009) and prolactin (influences parental care behavior; Ziegler et al 2009). Although the various phenotypical effects of this locus may be due to pleiotropy of only one or a few genes, another likely scenario is that it is the effect of many different, but closely linked, genes that are part of a selective sweep.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Growth QTL on Chicken Chromosome 1 Affects Emotionality and Sociality

Wirén

Jensen

2010

Behav Genet

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Domestication of animals, regardless of species, is often accompanied by simultaneous changes in several physiological and behavioral traits (e.g. growth rate and fearfulness). In this study we compared the social behavior and emotional reactivity, as measured in a battery of behavioral tests, of two groups of chickens selected from a common genetic background, an advanced intercross line between the ancestral red junglefowl ("RJF") and the domesticated White Leghorn layer ("WL"). The birds were selected for homozygosity for alternative alleles at one locus (a microsatellite marker), centrally positioned in a previously identified pleiotropic growth QTL on chromosome 1, closely linked to one major candidate gene (AVPR1a) for certain aspects of social behavior. Birds homozygous for the WL allele ("WL genotype") had a modified pattern of social and emotional reactions than birds homozygous for the RJF allele ("RJF genotype"), shown by different scores in a principal components analysis. These results suggest that the growth QTL affects a number of domestication related behavioral traits, and may have been a primary target of selection during domestication. The QTL contains a multitude of genes, several of which have been linked to social behavior (for example the vasotocin receptor AVPR1a targeted in this experiment). Future studies aimed at making a higher resolution genotypic characterization of the QTL should give more information about which of these genes may be considered the strongest candidates for bringing about the behavioral changes associated with animal domestication.

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“…However, in several biparental rodent and primate species, the onset of paternal care is associated with a decrease in testosterone and an increase in prolactin. However, there is little evidence of a causal relationship between elevated prolactin concentrations and paternal behavior in any mammalian species (28). …”

Section: Regulation Of Paternal Care In Rodentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The biology of mammalian parenting and its effect on offspring social development

Rilling¹,

Young

2014

Science

416

379

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Parents know the transformative nature of having and caring for a child. Among many mammals, giving birth leads from an aversion to infant stimuli to irresistible attraction. Here, we review the biological mechanisms governing this shift in parental motivation in mammals. Estrogen and progesterone prepare the uterus for embryo implantation and placental development. Prolactin stimulates milk production, whereas oxytocin initiates labor and triggers milk ejection during nursing. These same molecules, interacting with dopamine, also activate specific neural pathways to motivate parents to nurture, bond with, and protect their offspring. Parenting in turn shapes the neural development of the infant social brain. Recent work suggests that many of the principles governing parental behavior and its effect on infant development are conserved from rodent to humans.

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Prolactin's mediative role in male parenting in parentally experienced marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Cited by 67 publications

References 70 publications

Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males

Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males

A Growth QTL on Chicken Chromosome 1 Affects Emotionality and Sociality

The biology of mammalian parenting and its effect on offspring social development

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