FATHERHOOD could be good for your brain, at least if you鈥檙e a monkey.
It鈥檚 already known that male primates, including men, experience dramatic hormone changes when they become fathers. Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy and her colleagues from Princeton University realised that certain parts of the brain contain receptors for these hormones. So they studied the brain structure of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) that had become fathers. The species is rare among mammals in that fathers share in caring for their offspring.
In both first-time and experienced fathers with dependent offspring, the team found structural changes in the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain important for planning and memory. In these areas the neurons showed signs of enhancement, with a greater number of connections. They also had more receptor sites for the hormone vasopressin. The number decreases as the infants age, dropping back to normal as the young become independent.
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鈥淔atherhood produces changes in very high-cognitive-level areas,鈥� said Kozorovitskiy at a meeting of the Forum of European Neurosciences in Vienna, Austria, last week. The nerve enhancements may reflect changes in the reward system, she suggests, encouraging the father to bond and care for the infant. It could be the neural basis of parenting, she says.
