This article discusses recent research on the male brain and fatherhood, offering further evidence that men nurture their children—just in a different way than women. It reminds me of The Life of Dad by Anna Machin, a wonderfully accessible book that explores research on fatherhood up until its publication in 2018. While this new study goes beyond Machin’s work, it echoes many of the findings she presented.

One key study Machin highlighted—but which is absent from this new research—involves oxytocin and how it influences mothers and fathers differently. When their children are young, both parents experience a surge of oxytocin when interacting with them, but their responses diverge. A mother’s oxytocin boost is linked to nurturing behaviors—stroking, verbal affection, and “motherese” speech—while a father’s oxytocin increase is associated with more active, physical engagement. Same hormone but very different responses.  Evolution, Machin argues, tends to be efficient, avoiding redundancy. In other words, nature ensures that parents complement rather than duplicate each other’s roles: mothers nurture in one way, and fathers in another.

Until recently, the father’s approach to caregiving was often overlooked or even viewed negatively. However, researchers now recognize that fathers nurture their children through play, challenge, and boundary-setting—key behaviors that support healthy development and maturity. Some experts suggest that while mothers excel at raising children, fathers play a crucial role in raising adults. Despite this growing understanding, modern society continues to celebrate only the maternal style of nurturing. Yet, our children need both.

Researchers are increasingly recognizing the significant benefits of a father’s caregiving through rough-and-tumble play with his children. Studies have shown that this type of play helps children develop impulse control, frustration tolerance, emotional regulation, resilience, perseverance, and the ability to distinguish between playful and real aggression. Perhaps most importantly, it strengthens the bond between father and child.

The importance of these qualities becomes even more evident when considering the challenges faced by children growing up in fatherless households.

Another fascinating but often overlooked discovery is how both parents undergo psychological changes when a woman becomes pregnant. Studies on the Big Five personality traits have found that expectant mothers and fathers begin to shift toward greater alignment with each other, possibly to strengthen their teamwork as parents.

There is still so much we don’t fully understand about the roles of mothers and fathers—but research is finally catching up.

Here’s the article

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2825647

November 13, 2024

How the Paternal Brain Is Wired by Pregnancy

Hugo Bottemanne, MD^1,2; Lucie Joly, MD^2,3

Author Affiliations Article Information

JAMA Psychiatry. 2025;82(1):8-9. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3592

Pregnancy and post partum are accompanied by structural and functional brain changes in women that are thought to be important for caregiving.¹ Studies have shown that pregnancy in women is associated with extensive gray matter volume reductions during pregnancy.¹ Compared with controls, expecting mothers present lower cortical volume across several brain areas, with fewer cortical differences in the early postpartum period.¹ Some of these brain changes have been correlated with increased attention to infant-related sensory stimuli, such as cries and odors.¹ This neural plasticity and behavior change are driven by hormonal changes during pregnancy and can be distinguished from the brain changes caused by interactions with infants.¹

A growing number of human brain imaging studies have focused on changes in the paternal brain after childbirth.^2,3 Decreased gray matter in the orbitofrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, insula, fusiform gyrus, and left caudal anterior cingulate cortex and increased gray matter in the right temporal pole, hypothalamus, amygdala, striatum, subgenual cortex, superior temporal gyrus, and lateral prefrontal cortex⁴ were observed. Furthermore, first-time fathers showed a significant reduction in the cortical volume of the precuneus that was correlated with stronger brain responses in parental brain regions when viewing pictures of their own infant.³

A functional imaging study showed that fathers had preferential brain activation when exposed to infant-related vs non–infant-related stimuli, in contrast to nonfathers.⁴ Another study evaluating parental brain responses to infant stimuli in primary caregiving mothers, secondary caregiving fathers, and primary caregiving fathers who were raising infants without maternal involvement revealed that the latter group had greater activation in emotion processing networks toward their own infant interactions, akin to mothers.⁵ Taken together, these findings suggest that the time spent in childcare is a crucial factor in parental brain plasticity. In support of this hypothesis, a study revealed that childcare was positively correlated with the connectivity of the amygdala and superior temporal sulcus, regions associated with mentalizing and social perception processes.⁶

The aforementioned results support that paternal caregiving phenotypes rely on the same neural and hormonal substrates as maternal caregiving, referred to as the global human caregiving network.⁵ This network encompasses a mentalizing network (prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, temporal lobe, and superior temporal sulcus), an embodied simulation network (anterior cingulate cortex, superior frontal gyrus, motor cortex, and inferior parietal lobule), an emotional processing network (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus), and a subcortical parenting network (amygdala, hypothalamus, and mesolimbic pathway)⁶ (the Figure gives a detailed illustration of the paternal brain network).

Figure. Brain Network of Paternal Brain

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After childbirth, a father’s brain shows increased activity in the human caregiving network. This system encompasses a mentalizing network, an embodied simulation network, an emotional processing network, and a subcortical parenting network (amygdala, hypothalamus, and mesolimbic pathway). These changes have been associated with greater activation in emotion processing networks in fathers toward their own infant interactions, compared with childless men.

Increased activations in the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and superior temporal sulcus were observed when fathers watched images or heard sounds from their infants compared with unfamiliar infants.⁷ Moreover, watching infant pictures, as opposed to adult images, was significantly associated with increased activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, with this activation being greater in fathers than in nonfathers.⁶ However, it is unclear whether these functional brain changes occur in the postpartum period or begin during pregnancy.

Most research has focused on paternal brain plasticity after postpartum caregiving experiences, comparing fathers and childless males to identify morphologic and functional differences.⁵ Although fathers do not experience the mother’s physiologic and hormonal changes associated with pregnancy, these studies neglected potential early paternal brain changes during pregnancy. Studies have shown decreased testosterone levels in expectant fathers during their partner’s pregnancy,⁸ and these hormonal differences have been shown to correlate with brain responses to infant stimuli after childbirth.⁵ Another study revealed correlations between gestational age and activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus and the amygdala in expectant fathers.² Taken together, these findings suggest that hormonal dynamics may influence paternal brain plasticity during pregnancy, early before the first caregiving experience.

Steroid hormone signaling pathways, including those involving androgens, estrogens, and progestogens, may remodel the paternal brain during pregnancy. Higher oxytocin levels and lower testosterone levels have been associated with increased parenting behaviors and father-infant interactions.⁹ Furthermore, plasticity can be shaped by experiences associated with the onset of fatherhood, such as cohabitation with a pregnant partner.¹⁰ In an animal study, cohabitation with an unrelated female increased the expression of vasopressin messenger RNA in neural pathways mediating hippocampal regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system and decreased the expression of vasopressin peptide in the lateral septum and lateral habenular nucleus.¹⁰ These findings suggest that investigation into how and when such variability in paternal phenotypes emerges is needed.

Further research will also be crucial for understanding the brain mechanisms involved in paternal depression and anxiety during the perinatal period. Approximately 8% of fathers present with postpartum depression in the year after childbirth, but the neurobiological mechanisms involved in this are still unknown. The brain changes observed in fathers affect areas involved in emotional regulation, and this perinatal neuroplasticity could increase vulnerability to mental health conditions, weakening the ability to cope with stress factors.

Advancements in human neuroscience offer opportunities to investigate whether hormonal and experience-related factors shape the paternal and maternal brain differently during pregnancy as well as the implications for caregiving post partum. As with the maternal brain, longitudinal studies are needed to compare morphologic and functional changes in fathers’ brains during preconception, pregnancy, and the postpartum period. We urgently need to better understand the cerebral processes that affect the paternal brain.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Hugo Bottemanne, MD, Institut du Cerveau, Paris Brain Institute, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, UMR 7225/UMRS 1127, INSERM, 47 Boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France ([email protected]).

Published Online: November 13, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3592

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Additional Contributions: We thank the Paris Brain Institute for supporting this study.

References

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Servin-Barthet C, Martínez-García M, Pretus C, et al. The transition to motherhood: linking hormones, brain and behaviour. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2023;24(10):605-619. doi:10.1038/s41583-023-00733-6PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Diaz-Rojas F, Matsunaga M, Tanaka Y, et al. Development of the paternal brain in humans throughout pregnancy. J Cogn Neurosci. 2023;35(3):396-420. doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01953PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Paternina-Die M, Martínez-García M, Pretus C, et al. The paternal transition entails neuroanatomic adaptations that are associated with the father’s brain response to his infant cues. Cereb Cortex Commun. 2020;1(1):tgaa082. doi:10.1093/texcom/tgaa082PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Kim P, Rigo P, Mayes LC, Feldman R, Leckman JF, Swain JE. Neural plasticity in fathers of human infants. Soc Neurosci. 2014;9(5):522-535. doi:10.1080/17470919.2014.933713PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Abraham E, Hendler T, Shapira-Lichter I, Kanat-Maymon Y, Zagoory-Sharon O, Feldman R. Father’s brain is sensitive to childcare experiences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(27):9792-9797. doi:10.1073/pnas.1402569111PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Feldman R, Braun K, Champagne FA. The neural mechanisms and consequences of paternal caregiving. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2019;20(4):205-224. doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0124-6PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Abraham E, Hendler T, Zagoory-Sharon O, Feldman R. Interoception sensitivity in the parental brain during the first months of parenting modulates children’s somatic symptoms six years later. Int J Psychophysiol. 2019;136:39-48. doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.02.001PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Saxbe DE, Edelstein RS, Lyden HM, Wardecker BM, Chopik WJ, Moors AC. Fathers’ decline in testosterone and synchrony with partner testosterone during pregnancy predicts greater postpartum relationship investment. Horm Behav. 2017;90:39-47. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.07.005PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Weisman O, Zagoory-Sharon O, Feldman R. Oxytocin administration, salivary testosterone, and father-infant social behavior. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014;49:47-52. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.11.006PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

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Wang Z, Ferris CF, De Vries GJ. Role of septal vasopressin innervation in paternal behavior in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994;91(1):400-404. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.1.400PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref

This is a three part series written by an anonymous gentleman who is going under the name of Daniel Carver. Daniel uses his own experience and exposes the misandry of the Wisconsin Domestic Violence system.

 

Part 1 – Some of My Story and Where It Led Me

Here in Wisconsin, we have some laws that I was shocked to discover. Since then, I’ve learned that many other states have very similar state laws (statutes). I was telling that to Tom Golden, author of the podcast Men Are Good. Tom suggested I write up some of the things I learned here which he would publish for me as I remain anonymous.

Hopefully this will raise awareness and result in real actions of true justice (fairness). I hope we begin to see true child protection against domestic violence against them as well. We desperately need changes in the Wisconsin domestic violence (DV) government services network which is directly funded by all taxpayers via the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). That federal funding comes to the state through the Governor’s Council on Domestic Abuse. Wisconsin Domestic Abuse Council (WI. Statute 49.165(3))

As a victim of domestic violence (DV), I was very fortunate to get to join a men’s support group hosted by a male DV advocate who was a part time employee at the local DV shelter. There were three of us in the men’s group. The fully taxpayer funded shelter did not allow men to shelter there or anywhere else, but at least they had a part time DV advocate that believed us men and understood. It was so good to be believed in this men’s group because my church sure didn’t believe me. They even blamed me for my wife being violent, rage filled, and they refused to ever discuss it again once my wife blew up in the pastor’s office. In Jesus’ name the “Christian Counselor” at our church told me that Matthew 18:15-20 does not apply to marriages! Ridiculous, non-sensical, self serving convenience for the church.

 

Within a month or so, our men’s group DV advocate told us that he would no longer be hosting the men’s group because his part time position had been eliminated. So I went to talk to the Director of the DV shelter and ask why this man was cut from their payroll. She told me that the grant money had been non-renewed.

I asked her how is it that you have approximately 18 to 20 female DV advocates on your payroll, one male, and when you cut staff you cut the only man on your payroll? She told me that grant money was different than other money. What? Public grant money allocated only to a specific gender? Note that there are labor laws that prevent discrimination in employment. This Director of the DV shelter was violating labor law; and yet had no accountability and no consequences what-so-ever.

I compiled a list of every DV shelter in Wisconsin and emailed each one individually. I asked them how many residents they average annually. They liked that question and quickly answered. Then I ask how many of those residents were men and how many of their DV advocates were men, that’s when they ghosted me and never responded again.

Many of the shelters I called told me that they do not allow men nor do they help men in any other way. However, they usually won’t put that in writing or put it on their website because they know their funding is technically supposed to be for both men and women. They know their discrimination against men is draconian, so they don’t like it in writing. However some taxpayer funded DV shelters in Wisconsin even have in their name that they are women only shelters and services (Kenosha , Waukesha, Racine, Milwaukee ).

Back when I was still married, it was 2am and I had locked myself in the bathroom to get away from her rage. She was kicking down the bathroom door to get to me. She was calculated and shrewd enough to never leave a bruise, cut, or mark on me. She was basically trying to force me to hit her, but I never did.

 

I knew that if I called 911 that the police would arrest me for what she was doing and I knew that would also mean I would be fired from my state job and likely lose my state pension. I did not understand why, but I knew the reality. I did not call the police and that incident was the last straw that precipitated our divorce. She of course told our kids that their dad was the one who kicked in the door, I found that out years later from one of our kids.

As an aside here, after the divorce, one of our kids (age 14 at the time) was living at my ex-wife’s house. My child whom I love dearly (all of them), asked me to help because there was no way to handle their mother when she went into her fits of violent rage. So I called our local child services office and ask them to go do a home evaluation and speak to the kids without their mother and ask them if they thought they were safe. The director emailed me back to tell me to buzz-off because I was just trying to get out of paying child support. No further action was ever taken. Later, my teen attempted suicide. After divorce and after the DV shelters would not admit to how few men they assisted; I decided to look up the state law (statutes). I’ll define and critique Wisconsin domestic violence law in Part 2 of this series.

Calling for reforms to achieve true justice for all, kids too,
Sincerely, Daniel Carver

Put this in the “You can’t make this shit up“ file. It’s a story from Reason.com about a number of women who are claiming to have been raped by a trans-identifying inmate.

Women Allegedly Raped in Prison by Trans-Identifying Inmate Will Have To Refer to Attacker as 'She/Her'

The recent ruling means that on the stand those women may be subject to speech policing from their alleged rapist—who has opted for self-representation.

Women who allege they were raped in a California prison by a biological male claiming to be transgender will be compelled to refer to the defendant using she/her pronouns, a Madera County judge ruled last week, further complicating a case centered on a crime that was emboldened from the outset by the government.

Tremaine Carroll allegedly raped multiple inmates while at Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla after securing placement there by self-identifying as transgender. The Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act, which took effect in January 2021, allows California inmates to be placed in a facility corresponding with the sex they say they are. Under the law, a prisoner need not be on hormones, have had surgery, or undergo a psychological evaluation to be approved. The government considers their testimony sufficient.

In 1990, Carroll was charged with three counts of kidnapping for ransom, two counts of robbery, and three counts of oral copulation in concert by force, ultimately pleading guilty to two counts of kidnapping. Several years later, Carroll was sentenced to 25 years to life under California's three-strike law after acting as a getaway driver in a robbery.

"After his first cellmate became pregnant and was moved to Los Angeles, two other cellmates of his had complained that he had raped them," Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno told the local ABC affiliate. One of those cellmates says Carroll attacked her while she was in the shower. "This is a particular issue in this case because it's confusing to the jury," Moreno added. "In California, rape is a crime that has to be accomplished by a man."

It may be disorienting to the alleged victims, as well, who will be vulnerable to speech policing from the judge—or directly from Carroll, their alleged rapist, who has opted for self-representation. Charged with two counts of rape and one count of dissuading a witness from testifying, Carroll has since been transferred to Salinas Valley State Prison, a men's facility.

Prison rape is sadly a problem that attracts limited public outrage and is by no means constrained to women's prisons. Though precise statistics are hard to track, as such assaults sometimes go unreported, a 2012 report from the Justice Department estimated that over 200,000 inmates were sexually abused behind bars in one year alone. Many of those occur in men's prisons or happen to women at the hands of government employees. Those cases matter just as much.

But Carroll, who deserves a fair day in court, may be a fairly ominous cautionary tale. "It is our sworn duty to protect people from sexual assault and violence," Ralph Diaz, then the secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in a 2020 statement about the Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act. He added that the law would "codify our policies for the screening, treatment, and housing of this population as required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act." In other words, in seeking to comply with the federal law meant to eradicate prison rape, California allegedly encouraged it.