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Brains of fathers change for caregiver role

The Columbian
Published: June 1, 2014, 5:00pm

The brains of fathers who become the primary caregiver for their children show similar patterns to those seen more regularly in mothers, according to a study testing the neurological basis of parenting.

The amygdala, responsible in the brain for vigilance and reward, becomes more engaged for fathers involved in caregiving, in much the same way as it is for

mothers, according to

research published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Similarly, an area responsible for interpreting a child’s needs shows an increase in activity.

The report follows previous research in animals that found similar changes, said Ruth Feldman, the study author. The more the brain was activated, the more sensitive the parents were to their infants’ needs.

“Fathers should engage in child care activity because this is their pathway to brain changes and attachment,” said Feldman, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. “When mothers are around, fathers’ amygdala can rest and mothers do the worrying. When mothers are not around, fathers’ brains need to assume this function.”

Changes in the amygdala occur in women from hormones in pregnancy and childbirth, said Feldman. In men, the brain area responsible for interpreting the child’s needs recruits the amygdala to activate only when a mother isn’t around, she said.

More studies are needed to determine if there are cultural differences in parental brain responses and what happens when there is maternal postpartum depression and poverty, she said.

The research included 20 primary care-giving heterosexual mothers, 21 secondary care-giving heterosexual fathers and 48 primary care-giving homosexual fathers raising infants in a partnered relationship.

They found there is a “parental care” network in the brain, the report said.

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