ArticleCerebral cortex communications2020
The Paternal Transition Entails Neuroanatomic Adaptations that are Associated with the Father's Brain Response to his Infant Cues.
Article in Cerebral cortex communications, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Neuropsychological Disorders and Its Intergenerational Transmission Mechanisms.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The paternal brain: longitudinal insights into structural and functional plasticity and attachment over 24 weeks postpartum.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Traces of Parenthood but Not Pregnancy Loss in UK Biobank Structural Brain MRI Data.Human brain mapping · 2026Article
- A holistic review of fatherhood in humans and non-human animals: mechanisms of fatherhood, effects on fathers themselves, and interactions of fathers with others.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Review
- My Baby Versus the World: Fathers' Neural Processing of Own-Infant, Unfamiliar-Infant, and Romantic Partner Stimuli.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Pregnancy entails a U-shaped trajectory in human brain structure linked to hormones and maternal attachment.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Enduring maternal brain changes and their role in mediating motherhood's impact on well-being.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Cortical volume reductions in men transitioning to first-time fatherhood reflect both parenting engagement and mental health risk.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2024Article
- Prenatal testosterone synchrony in first-time parents predicts fathers' postpartum relationship quality.Hormones and behavior · 2023Article
- Prenatal prolactin predicts postnatal parenting attitudes and brain structure remodeling in first-time fathers.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Article
- First-time fathers show longitudinal gray matter cortical volume reductions: evidence from two international samples.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2023Article
- Matrescence: lifetime impact of motherhood on cognition and the brain.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2023Review
- The transition to parenthood in obstetrics: enhancing prenatal care for 2-generation impact.American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM · 2022Review
- Neurobiological Correlates of Fatherhood During the Postpartum Period: A Scoping Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Characterizing the Brain Structural Adaptations Across the Motherhood Transition.Frontiers in global women's health · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 8 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The transition into fatherhood is a life-changing event that requires substantial psychological adaptations. In families that include a father figure, sensitive paternal behavior has been shown to positively impact the infant's development. Yet, studies exploring the neuroanatomic adaptations of men in their transition into fatherhood are scarce. The present study used surface-based methods to reanalyze a previously published prospective magnetic resonance imaging dataset comprised of 20 first-time fathers (preconception-to-postpartum) and 17 childless men. We tested if the transition into fatherhood entailed changes in cortical volume, thickness, and area and whether these changes were related to 2 indicators of paternal experience. Specifically, we tested if such changes were associated with (1) the baby's age and/or (2) the fathers' brain activity in response to pictures of their babies compared with an unknown baby. Results indicated that first-time fathers exhibited a significant reduction in cortical volume and thickness of the precuneus. Moreover, higher volume reduction and cortical thinning were associated with stronger brain responses to pictures of their own baby in parental brain regions. This is the first study showing preconception-to-postpartum neuroanatomical adaptations in first-time fathers associated with the father's brain response to cues of his infant.
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