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New research shows that fatherhood changes men's brain chemistry.
According to a new study published in the journal Cerebral cortex According to a scientific journal, becoming a father causes men's brains to undergo changes that support their ability to bond with their baby and become sensitive to the baby's needs, which is believed to be a crucial adaptation for the survival of our species.
Lead researcher Darby Saxbe, a psychology professor at the University of Southern California who studies structural changes in the brain, and her colleagues in Spain conducted brain imaging studies on 40 expectant fathers before and after the birth of their first child. In their findings, they found that when men experienced a reduction in gray matter both before and after becoming fathers, the changes were more subtle than in women.
The changes were found primarily in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for executive functions such as memory, thinking, reasoning, learning, problem-solving and emotional processing, with the reduction in grey matter understood to be one way the body is improving the male brain's ability to process information.
In a follow-up study, Saxbe and his team looked at 38 first-time fathers and found that those who reported greater motivation and commitment toward parenthood experienced a greater reduction in gray matter volume in the cerebral cortex.
The reduction of grey matter in the cerebral cortex is not the only change that fathers experience before and after having their babies; several studies indicate that men also experience hormonal changes.
Not only have researchers found that fathers experience crucial surges in oxytocin when holding their newborns for the first time, but studies have also found that testosterone levels may be indicative of men's likelihood of becoming fathers.
The results of this latest study were drawn from a study that looked at 600 men and found that men in their twenties with higher levels of testosterone were more likely to become partnered fathers when researchers followed them four years later, compared to their counterparts with lower testosterone levels. However, these partnered fathers would go on to experience pronounced declines in testosterone, unlike single non-fathers, who were reported to experience a smaller decline.
Testosterone levels in men are important because they facilitate the drive to mate and procreate. While the decline may be alarming to some, Professor Lee Gettler of the University of Notre Dame has found through research that the decline occurs primarily as a resetting of priorities. According to their findings, they found that the decline was not as dramatic in fathers over 30 as it was in those in their 20s.
