Neural Responses to Infants linked with Behavioral Interactions and Testosterone in Fathers

Authors

Patty X. Kuo, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Joshua Carp, University of Michigan-Ann ArborFollow
Kathleen C. Light, University of UtahFollow
Karen M. Grewen, University of North CarolinaFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

10-2012

Citation

Biol Psychol. 2012 October ; 91(2): 302–306.

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.08.002

NIH Public Access Author Manuscript

Comments

Copyright 2012 Elsevier. Used by peermission.

Abstract

Few fMRI studies have investigated the brain-behavioral basis of parenting in human fathers. Ten fathers were videotaped and gave salivary testosterone samples while interacting with their 2–4 month old infants, and viewed video clips of their own infant and an unfamiliar age-, ethnicityand sex-matched other infant during an fMRI protocol. Infant stimuli activated a network of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions. Furthermore, a subset of these regions activated significantly more to own (OWN) than other (OTHER) infants. Finally, neural responses to OWN versus OTHER were linked with paternal sensitivity, paternal reciprocity, and testosterone. In sum, our results provide a novel perspective on the links between brain, behavior, and hormones in fathers.