Theory of mind processing in expectant fathers: Associations with prenatal oxytocin and parental attunement

A neurocomputational account of the link between social perception and social action

People selectively help others based on perceptions of their merit or need. Here, we develop a neurocomputational account of how these social perceptions translate into social choice. Using a novel fMRI social perception task, we show that both merit and need perceptions recruited the brain's social inference network. A behavioral computational model identified two non-exclusive mechanisms underlying variance in social perceptions: a consistent tendency to perceive others as meritorious/needy (bias) and a propensity to sample and integrate normative evidence distinguishing high from low merit/need in other people (sensitivity). Variance in people's merit (but not need) bias and sensitivity independently predicted distinct aspects of altruism in a social choice task completed months later. An individual's merit bias predicted context-independent variance in people's overall other-regard during altruistic choice, biasing people towards prosocial actions. An individual's merit sensitivity predicted context-sensitive discrimination in generosity towards high and low merit recipients by influencing other-regard and self-regard during altruistic decision-making. This context-sensitive perception-action link was associated with activation in the right temporoparietal junction. Together, these findings point towards stable, biologically based individual differences in perceptual processes related to abstract social concepts like merit, and suggest that these differences may have important behavioral implications for an individual's tendency toward favoritism or discrimination in social settings.

Prenatal testosterone synchrony in first-time parents predicts fathers' postpartum relationship quality

There is evidence that men's testosterone levels decline across the transition to fatherhood and that this decline may reflect fathers' investment in the new family. There is also emerging evidence that cohabiting couples show synchrony or within-couple associations in testosterone levels during the perinatal period. Hormonal synchrony may act as a mechanism that supports fathers' biological preparation for parenthood, perhaps by facilitating perinatal declines in paternal testosterone. However, few studies have examined testosterone synchrony and change within couples. A sample of 97 U.S. couples expecting their first child provided testosterone samples during pregnancy, and of those couples, 78 couples also provided testosterone at seven months postpartum. Couples reported on relationship satisfaction both at prenatal and postpartum visits. Bayesian multilevel modeling revealed within-couple testosterone synchrony both during pregnancy and postpartum. Testosterone synchrony during pregnancy predicted a greater drop in fathers' testosterone levels from prenatal to postpartum and higher paternal postpartum relationship quality. Fathers' lower prenatal testosterone levels also subsequently predicted higher self-reported postpartum relationship quality for both parents. In sum, this study finds that couples' testosterone levels show synchrony across the transition to parenthood in ways that are associated with couple relationship quality and men's neuroendocrine preparation for fatherhood.

Fathers' subjective childbirth stress predicts depressive symptoms at six months postpartum

BACKGROUND

Childbirth is a seminal experience in parents' lives. However, little research has investigated the link between fathers' birth experiences and their postpartum mental health. We hypothesized that a more subjectively stressful birth will predict greater self-reported depressive symptoms in fathers at six months postpartum. We also investigated the association between mode of delivery and paternal subjective stress.

METHODS

Seventy-seven heterosexual fathers expecting their first child and cohabiting with their pregnant partners participated in the study. Depressive symptoms were assessed in pregnancy and again at six months postpartum. Subjective birth stress was measured within the first few days of the birth, and birth charts were collected to examine mode of delivery.

RESULTS

Fathers' ratings of subjective birth stress significantly predicted postpartum depressive symptoms at six months postpartum. Subjective birth stress ratings varied significantly for fathers whose partners delivered via emergency cesarean section compared to those whose partners gave birth via both medicated and the unmedicated vaginal delivery.

LIMITATIONS

The study was limited by its small community (non-clinical) sample, which was restricted to heterosexual, cohabitating couples. Additionally, births were mostly uncomplicated and only 14 mothers underwent emergency cesarean section.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlight that the days immediately following childbirth are a window of opportunity for early intervention in new fathers at risk for postpartum depression.

Prenatal prolactin predicts postnatal parenting attitudes and brain structure remodeling in first-time fathers

Despite the important contributions that fathers make to parenting, the neurobiological underpinnings of men's adaptation to parenthood are still not well understood. The current study focuses on prolactin, a hormone that has been extensively linked with reproduction, lactation, and parental behavior in mothers. There is preliminary evidence that prolactin may also reflect the transition to sensitive fatherhood. We sampled prolactin in 91 first-time expectant fathers who participated in a laboratory visit along with their pregnant partners. Fathers' prolactin levels were correlated with their partners' prolactin levels. Men's prolactin levels during their partner's pregnancy were associated with their self-reported antenatal bonding to the unborn infant. Prenatal prolactin levels in fathers also predicted more positive attitudes toward fatherhood at three months postpartum, including lower parenting stress, greater enjoyment of the infant, and a more attunement-oriented parenting style. Within a smaller sample of 32 men who participated in MRI scanning before and after their child's birth, prenatal prolactin also predicted greater reductions in grey matter volume in the left posterior cingulate, left insula, and left nucleus accumbens. In conclusion, men's prenatal prolactin may reflect their perceptions of fatherhood and changes to their perinatal brain structure.

Theory of mind during pregnancy and postpartum: A systematic review

Pregnancy is associated with prominent structural changes in brain areas involved in Theory of Mind (ToM), pointing to the possibility of modifications in ToM-related behavior and brain responses in parents. We performed a systematic review screening for studies that examined ToM in pregnant and/or early postpartum parents. The evaluation of the included 12 studies allowed us to construct an overview of ToM changes during pregnancy and postpartum as well as other associated factors, such as oxytocin, mental health, and parental behavior. Four studies examined ToM changes by comparing pregnant/early postpartum parents with nulliparous parents or prepregnancy measures. They reported no differences between groups measured with a self-report questionnaire but found group differences using an experimental approach. The results from the summarized studies further suggest a mediatory role of oxytocin between ToM and certain parental behavior. In addition, while no link between postpartum depression and ToM was observed, findings do point to an association between depressive and remote maternal behavior and anxious attachment style and ToM abilities in pregnant participants. Research findings regarding the interaction of ToM with both parity and maternal attachment to the fetus are ambivalent. Overall, research on this topic is scarce, limiting our ability to draw firm conclusions and stressing the need for further research on this topic. This review presents an overview of research findings on ToM and associated factors in pregnancy and the postpartum period and discusses directions for future research.

Parenting beliefs about attunement and structure are related to observed parenting behaviours

We compared self-reported parenting beliefs about caring for infants with observed parenting behaviours during play interactions between 32 parents and their infants. We measured parenting beliefs about the value of attunement and structure in caring for infants using the Baby Care Questionnaire (BCQ) (Winstanley & Gattis, 2013; Winstanley, Sperotto, Putnick, Cherian, Bornstein & Gattis, 2014). We used a micro-coding approach to distinguish between responsive parenting behaviours (maintaining infant attention) and demanding parenting behaviours (introducing or redirecting infant attention) (Landry, Garner, Swank & Baldwin, 1996). Attunement beliefs were positively related to responsive parenting behaviours and negatively related to demanding parenting behaviours. Structure beliefs were weakly related to demanding parenting behaviours. These results are an important first step toward identifying relations between self-reported parenting beliefs about attunement and structure and observed parenting behaviours.

The Neural Basis of Human Fatherhood: A Unique Biocultural Perspective on Plasticity of Brain and Behavior

With the growing involvement of fathers in childrearing and the application of neuroscientific tools to research on parenting, there is a need to understand how a father's brain and neurohormonal systems accommodate the transition to parenthood and how such neurobiological changes impact children's mental health, sociality, and family functioning. In this paper, we present a theoretical model on the human father's brain and the neural adaptations that take place when fathers assume an involved role. The neurobiology of fatherhood shows great variability across individuals, societies, and cultures and is shaped to a great extent by bottom-up caregiving experiences and the amount of childrearing responsibilities. Mechanisms of mother-father coparental brain coordination and hormonal correlates of paternal behavior are detailed. Adaptations in the father's brain during pregnancy and across the postpartum year carry long-term implications for children's emotion regulation, stress management, and symptom formation. We propose a new conceptual model of HEALthy Father Brain that describes how a father's brain serves as a source of resilience in the context of family adversity and its capacity to "heal", protect, and foster social brain maturation and functionality in family members via paternal sensitivity, attunement, and support, which, in turn, promote child development and healthy family functioning. Father's brain provides a unique model on neural plasticity as sustained by committed acts of caregiving, thereby affording a novel perspective on the brain basis of human affiliation.

Recent Neuroscience Advances in Human Parenting

The transition to parenthood entails brain adaptations to the demands of caring for a newborn. This chapter reviews recent neuroscience findings on human parenting, focusing on neuroimaging studies. First, we describe the brain circuits underlying human maternal behavior, which comprise ancient subcortical circuits and more sophisticated cortical regions. Then, we present the short-term and long-term functional and structural brain adaptations that characterize the transition to motherhood, discuss the long-term effects of parenthood on the brain, and propose several underlying neural mechanisms. We also review neuroimaging findings in biological fathers and alloparents (such as other relatives or adoptive parents), who engage in parenting without directly experiencing pregnancy or childbirth. Finally, we describe perinatal mental illnesses and discuss the neural responses associated with such disorders. To date, studies indicate that parenthood is a period of enhanced brain plasticity within brain areas critical for cognitive and social processing and that both parenting experience and gestational-related factors can prime such plasticity.

Characterizing the Brain Structural Adaptations Across the Motherhood Transition

Women that become mothers face notable physiological adaptations during this life-period. Neuroimaging studies of the last decade have provided grounded evidence that women's brains structurally change across the transition into motherhood. The characterization of this brain remodeling is currently in its early years of research. The current article reviews this scientific field by focusing on our longitudinal (pre-to-post pregnancy) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies in first-time parents and other longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of parents. We present the questions that are currently being answered by the parental brain literature and point out those that have not yet been explored. We also highlight potential confounding variables that need to be considered when analyzing and interpreting brain changes observed during motherhood.