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Neurobiological correlates of fathers’ transition to parenthood
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Neurobiological correlates of fathers’ transition to parenthood
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NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
2023 Narcis A. Valen
Neurobiological Correlates of Fathers’ Transition to Parenthood
Narcis A. Valen, M.A.
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
August 2023
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
ii
Table of Contents
List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………… iii
List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………. iv
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………… v
Neurobiological Correlates of Fathers’ Transition to Parenthood ………….……………. 1
Neural Correlates of Effective Caregiving ……………………………….………. 2
Current Studies ………………………………………………………….…………. 5
Methods …………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Participants ……………………………………………………………………….. 6
Procedures ………………………………………………………………………… 8
Measures …………...…………………………………………………………….. 9
Results ……………….…………………………………………………………………… 16
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Strengths & Limitations …………….……………………………………………. 30
Future Directions …….…………………………………………………………... 31
References ………………………………………………………………………………… 33
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
iii
List of Tables
Table 1. Subject Descriptives……………………………………………………….…… 7
Table 2. Summary of Study Measures …………………………..………….……………. 12
Table 3. Study 1: Cross-sectional cluster information …………………….……………. 18
Table 4. Study 2: Longitudinal cluster information ……………..………….……………. 20
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
iv
List of Figures
Figure 1 …………………………………………………………..………….……………. 18
Figure 2 …………………………………………………………..………….……………. 21
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
v
Abstract
Fathers play a powerful role in promoting their children’s health and development, yet research
has made limited progress in uncovering neurobiological factors involved in successful fathering.
Examining neural response to infant visual stimuli may be especially important to understanding
fathers’ effective caregiving. In the present studies, we assessed 31 fathers’ neural response to
infant video stimuli using cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. Our first study examined
whole-brain postpartum differences in fathers’ neural activation in response to own- versus
unfamiliar-infant video stimuli and whether these differences correlated with fathers’ self-
reported attachment and parenting behaviors. Our second study examined changes in fathers’
neural response to infant video stimuli prenatally to postpartum. We found that viewing videos
of their own infants was associated with greater neural activation among fathers in regions
associated with social cognition (i.e., precuneus, cingulate cortex, paracingulate, angular gyrus)
and reward (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex; OFC). This activation was inversely associated with
antenatal attachment in an area of the precuneus, such that fathers who self-reported greater
attachment showed decreased activation within this region. We found that neural response to
unfamiliar-infant video stimuli increased in precuneus, superior lateral occipital cortex (LOC),
and paracingulate gyrus from prenatal to postpartum, while activation decreased in inferior LOC,
left putamen, OFC, and left thalamus across this same time. These studies address critical gaps in
existing literature, allowing novel insight into how patterns of neural activation may change
across the transition to fatherhood.
Keywords: social-cognition, neural activation, infant stimuli, fatherhood, parenting, attachment
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
1
Neurobiological Correlates of Fathers’ Transition to Parenthood
Early environments play an enormous role in shaping lifelong well-being. Perhaps the
most important elements in a child’s early environment are their caregivers. However, most of
the existing research literature on parenting and caregiving has focused on mothers, despite the
importance of fathers in influencing child well-being across the lifespan.
Despite fathers’ contributions to child development, research has made limited progress
in uncovering what factors support successful fathering and how fathers’ neurobiology
contributes to more (or less) effective parenting behaviors. A nascent literature suggests that
transitions to fatherhood are accompanied by specific neural and psychological changes, which
may have significant implications for caregiving behaviors (Abraham et al., 2014; Cardenas et
al., 2021; Khoddam et al., 2020; Kim, 2016; Kim et al., 2014; Marshall et al., 2022; Martínez-
García et al., 2023; Paternina-Die et al., 2020; Provenzi et al., 2021; Saxbe, Martínez‐Garcia,
Cardenas, Waizman, & Carmona, 2023; Seifritz et al., 2003). However, these
neuropsychological changes remain incompletely understood. Findings from studies on parenting
and child development have consistently emphasized the importance of certain types of parenting
behaviors (i.e., supportive and sensitive parenting) as key factors in promoting positive child
outcomes. Importantly, a recent review identified several critical contributions of paternal
caregiving, including engagement in unique parenting interactions distinct from those associated
with maternal parenting (see Provenzi et al., 2021)—suggesting that fathers may make unique
contributions to parenting. Moreover, research has indicated that having even just one parent
who exhibits a more supportive parenting style may provide a buffer to these disadvantages and
partially mitigate the negative outcomes associated with less involved parenting (Simons &
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
2
Conger, 2007). It is crucial for future work to elucidate the neurobiological processes involved in
these types of effective fathering behaviors.
Neural Correlates of Effective Caregiving
A preliminary literature has implicated certain neural regions and structures associated
with social cognition as being particularly relevant to mammalian caregiving and emerging work
suggests that neural structures associated with parenting may change across transitions to
parenthood (Cardenas et al., 2021; Khoddam et al., 2020; Marshall et al., 2022; Martínez-García
et al., 2023; Saxbe et al., 2023). Effective parenting behaviors (e.g., responsiveness to infant or
child cues) rely on the empathic and responsive recognition of the infant or child’s perspective
(Davidov & Grusec, 2006; Steinberg, 2001). Research has found that these prosocial abilities are
supported by an array of neural regions associated with social cognition, underscoring the
importance of examining neural mechanisms involved in effective caregiving.
Neural regions involved in emotion regulation and social cognition may be especially
important to examine in the context of parenting, where successful parenting behaviors often rely
on effectively recognizing and sharing in the emotional states of others, as well as managing own
emotional responses. The precuneus is implicated as a critical region in socioemotional
functioning, Theory of Mind (ToM), and an array of higher-order cognitive functions (Cavanna,
2007; Northoff et al., 2006). Research has demonstrated involvement of the precuneus in
emotional attributions (Ochsner et al., 2004), as well as representations of self and others
(Cavanna, 2007; Northoff et al., 2006). Prior neuroimaging studies have found precuneus
activation among parents in response to emotionally salient visual stimuli (e.g., faces of one’s
own child or romantic partner) that may be associated with dimensions of attachment, sensitivity,
and parenting (Leibenluft, Gobbini, Harrison, & Haxby, 2004; Montoya et al., 2012; Morgan et
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
3
al., 2015; Noriuchi, Kikuchi, & Senoo, 2008; Turpyn, Niehaus, Faundez, Thompson, & Chaplin,
2020; Wan et al., 2014). One study by Morgan et al. (2015) found decreased activation among
mothers in the precuneus and precentral gyrus in response to video clips of own child showing
negative emotion was associated with lower maternal warmth and higher maternal hostility
(Morgan et al., 2015). These findings emphasize the relevance of socioemotional processing
regions like the precuneus to dimensions of positive caregiving.
Research has revealed several other neural regions that may have particular relevance for
paternal attachment and caregiving behaviors. Neuroimaging studies have found that mothers
exhibit activation in insula, PCC, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and dorsomedial prefrontal
cortex (dMPFC) in response to infant cries whereas non-mothers do not (Witteman et al., 2019) .
There is preliminary evidence that neural activation is associated with differences in caregiving
behaviors. Higher activation in empathy-associated areas (i.e., insula, ACC) in mothers may be
associated with better regulation of emotions and stress, and strengthening the ability to make
better parenting decisions (Laurent, Stevens, & Ablow, 2011). A neuroimaging study by Musser
et al. (2012) found that neural response to infant cry was associated with maternal parenting
behaviors and sensitivity (Musser, Kaiser-Laurent, & Ablow, 2012). Specifically, researchers
found that mothers who exhibited more sensitive behaviors during interactions with their infant
exhibited greater activation in response to their own infant’s cry (compared to an unfamiliar
infant’s cry) in the right frontal pole and inferior frontal gyrus (Musser et al., 2012). Research
has found that intermediate insula activation in response to infant cry sounds is associated with
greater paternal involvement in childcare (Li et al., 2018; Mascaro, Hackett, & Rilling, 2014).
One study by Riem et al. (2011) found that mothers who had higher activation in the
orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) exhibited more praise and positive affect towards their infant, while
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
4
activation of mPFC during infant cry was associated with increased sensitivity and more secure
child attachment behaviors (Riem et al., 2011).
While much of the parenting literature has focused on infant cry and other auditory
caregiving cues, a growing body of neuroimaging research posits infant faces are particularly
powerful stimuli in evoking neural responses associated with caregiving. Previous neuroimaging
research utilizing versions of the Family Video Task (FVT) used in our current studies found that
this task activated cortical midline regions (prefrontal cortex; PFC, PMC), as well as midbrain
and subcortical regions (amygdala, striatum, thalamus, posterior cingulate cortex; PFC)
specifically implicated in caregiving (Saxbe, Del Piero, Immordino-Yang, Kaplan, & Margolin,
2016, 2015; Saxbe, Del Piero, & Margolin, 2015). Moreover, reward regions and areas involved
in motivation may be important neural structures to examine in a parenting context and infant
faces may be a particularly salient and rewarding visual stimuli in parenting contexts. Research
has suggested that infant facial configurations are evocative of spontaneous attention and
caregiving in adults (Hahn & Perrett, 2014; Piallini, De Palo, & Simonelli, 2015), and that infant
facial features are universally and instinctively preferred (Hahn & Perrett, 2014; Sato, Koda,
Lemasson, Nagumo, & Masataka, 2012). The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a key hub of social-
cognition and reward-related processing that may have particular relevance for the types of
emotion- and reward-related decision-making involved in effective caregiving (Kolk & Rakic,
2022; Kringelbach, 2005; Rakic, 2009; Zald, Zald, & Rauch, 2006). Indeed, neuroimaging work
has found that mothers activated dopamine-associated reward-processing regions of the brain
(e.g., OFC, insula) in response to viewing their own infant's face compared with an unknown
infant's face (Strathearn, Li, Fonagy, & Montague, 2008). Joyful expressions and infant smiles
may be especially powerful and rewarding stimuli. Findings from several studies indicate that
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
5
own-infant’s smile may represent a positive reinforcement to mother’s caretaking behavior
(Lenzi et al., 2009; Strathearn et al., 2008), which may help establish a positive emotional circuit
during the development of maternal-infant attachment.
While previous neuroimaging research has helped identify some regions (e.g., PCC,
ACC, precuneus) important to human caregiving, this literature is characterized by important
gaps. Much of this work has focused on mothers and maternal caregiving, despite the critical
importance of fathers and their contributions to parenting. Moreover, there is a lack of
neuroimaging research that examines longitudinal brain development over the course of
parenthood (i.e., how the parenting brain changes over the transition when becoming a parent for
the first time). It is clear that more research is needed to understand the role that neurobiological
mechanisms play in effective parenting and successful transitions to fatherhood.
Current Studies
In the present studies, we sought to elucidate neural mechanisms involved in effective
paternal caregiving. These studies examined fathers’ neural responses to infant stimuli in order to
better understand how brain activation may be linked with fundamental aspects of effective
caregiving (e.g., attachment, sensitive parenting). Importantly, this included comparing fathers’
neural activation before and after the birth of their first child for the first time, allowing insight
into how patterns of neural connectivity may change across the transition to fatherhood and how
these changes, in turn, may be predictive of child outcomes later on.
Study 1: Our first study examined fathers’ postpartum neural activation in response to
own/unfamiliar infant video stimuli and tested whether this activation was associated with
fathers’ self-reported attachment and parenting behaviors. We expected that own versus
unfamiliar infant stimuli would evoke greater neural activation in neural regions associated with
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
6
caregiving (e.g., cingulate, precuneus insula) and those associated with reward and motivation
(e.g., NAcc, VTA, OFC). We expected that individual differences in activation in response to
own versus unfamiliar infant video stimuli would be associated with differences in self-reported
attachment and parenting behaviors, such that fathers who show greater activation in neural
regions associated with caregiving (e.g., cingulate, precuneus, insula) and reward/motivation
(e.g., NAcc, VTA, OFC) in response to infant stimuli will endorse stronger attachment with their
infant and more successful parenting behaviors.
Study 2: In the second study, we examined changes in fathers’ neural activation pre- to
postpartum in response to infant video stimuli. We expected that fathers would demonstrate
increased activation in response to infant stimuli in neural regions associated with caregiving
(e.g., cingulate, precuneus, insula) and those associated with reward and motivation (e.g., NAcc,
VTA, OFC) postpartum compared to prenatally.
Methods
Participants
These studies report on 31 first-time fathers (ages 24-42, M = 32.06) drawn from an
ongoing study of brain and biological underpinnings of the transition to parenthood. While a
grand total of 38 fathers from the larger study were scanned postpartum, six were excluded due
to unusable data and one was scanned after final analyses for the present studies had been
completed. Fathers were cohabitating with their partners and expecting single babies at time of
recruitment. Participant demographics are reported in Table 1. Prenatal self-report and scan data
were available from all fathers; postpartum self-report and scan data were available from all but
1 of these individuals. Exclusion criteria included certain medications or conditions that interfere
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
7
with perinatal hormones (e.g., steroid medicines, Cushing’s disease), and psychiatric illness
requiring medication, as well as use of illegal drugs. Users of tobacco, marijuana, and some
psychiatric medications were allowed to participate if they were able to abstain for 24 hours prior
to their study visit. Individuals who exhibited any of the following were excluded:
contraindication for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; e.g., claustrophobia, metal implanted in
body), left-handedness, neurological or movement disorders, history of brain injury,
psychotropic medication, or severe learning disability. Eligibility criteria also necessitated that
participants had sufficient English language fluency to complete study measures and scanning
procedures in English. Otherwise, we sought to recruit a socioeconomically and ethnically
diverse sample.
Table 1. Subject Descriptives
Study 1
(n = 31)
Study 2
(n = 30)
Range
Demographic Information M (SD) M (SD)
Age 32.06 (4.31) 32.30 (4.18) 24 - 42
Infant Age Postpartum (weeks) 28.39 (2.66) 28.37 (2.70)
Infant Age Prenatal (weeks) 29.11 (4.78)
% of total
% of total
Ethnicity
White 29% 30%
Black or African American 10% 10%
Hispanic or Latino/a 32% 30%
Asian or Pacific Islander 23% 23%
Other 6% 7%
Education
High School/GED 3% 3%
Some college 16% 17%
Associate's degree 3% 3%
Bachelor's Degree 32% 30%
Master's degree 23% 23%
Doctoral degree 23% 23%
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
8
Self-Report Measures M (SD)
Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (PAAS) 3.65 (0.42)
Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) 99.57 (5.14)
Positive Postpartum Parenting Behaviors
(PARYC)
6.1 (0.50)
Procedures
The current studies use data from four separate visits: a prenatal laboratory visit, a
prenatal MRI visit, a postpartum laboratory visit, and a postpartum MRI visit. During the
prenatal laboratory visit, which occurred during mid-to-late pregnancy (20-36 weeks; see Table
1), fathers completed self-report questionnaire measures to assess antenatal attachment (i.e.,
Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (PAAS)).
The prenatal MRI visit took place at the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive
Neuroimaging Center (DNI) at USC. MRI visits were scheduled to take place shortly after the
prenatal visit (typically occurring within 2 weeks of the prenatal visit). These visits included a
7.5-minute task-based fMRI sequence that measured neural responses to adult and infant video
stimuli (i.e., Family Video Task (FVT)).
The postpartum laboratory visit took place six months after birth with both parents and
their infant present. During this visit, fathers completed self-report questionnaire measures to
assess parenting behaviors (i.e., Parenting Young Children – Infant Version (PARYC-I), and
postpartum attachment (i.e., Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI)). Due to the COVID-19
pandemic, four postpartum visits were completed remotely.
The postpartum MRI visit also took place at the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive
Neuroimaging Center (DNI) at USC, shortly after the postpartum laboratory visit (typically
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
9
within 2 weeks). Data collection was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and four fathers
were scanned between 1-9 months following their postpartum visit. Postpartum MRI visits
included a 7.5-minute task-based fMRI sequence that measured neural responses to adult and
infant video stimuli (i.e., Family Video Task (FVT)).
Measures
An overview of the measures used to operationalize key study constructs and potential
confounding variables is shown in Table 2.
Father-Infant Attachment
Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (PAAS). Prenatal father-infant attachment was
measured at the prenatal visit using the Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (PAAS), a 16-item
self-report scale designed to assess dimensions of prenatal father-infant attachment, including
fathers’ feelings, attitudes, and behaviors towards the fetus. It is based on a phenomenological
view of paternal-fetal attachment, which sees this bond as being based on a subjective state of
love for the unborn child, rather than an attitude or belief about the child (Condon, 1993). There
is a paternal version and maternal version, which are mostly identical except for some slight
wording changes. The paternal version was used in this study. The PAAS consists of a Global
Attachment Score, which is comprised of all items in the measure, and two subscales: (1) Quality
of Attachment, which describes fathers’ emotional experience (e.g., tenderness/irritation) when
thinking of the fetus, and (2) Preoccupation with the Fetus, which refers to the strength and
amount of time spent thinking about the baby. Higher scores indicate a stronger and more
adaptive attachment style. The PAAS has been shown to have good internal consistency and
construct validity (Condon, 1993).
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
10
Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI). Postpartum father-infant attachment was
measured at the six-month postpartum visit using the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI), a
26-item self-report measure designed to assess paternal as well as maternal attachment (Müller,
1994; Yu, Hung, Chan, Yeh, & Lai, 2012). Participants were asked to rate the frequency of
particular thoughts, feelings, and situations that new parents may experience on a 4-point Likert
scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 4 (almost always)(Müller, 1994). Higher scores on the
MAI indicate stronger affectionate parental attachment (Müller, 1994).
Parenting Behaviors
The Parenting Young Children Questionnaire – Infant Version (PARYC-I).
Parenting behaviors were assessed at six-months postpartum using The Parenting Young
Children Questionnaire – Infant Version (PARYC-I), a 17-item self-report measure designed to
assess positive parenting behaviors (Gill, A., Shaw, D.S., & Dishion, n.d.). Participants were
asked to rate the frequency of different parenting behaviors (e.g., “Were you able to play with
your baby in a way that was fun for him/her?”, “Were you able to distract your baby when s/he
was about to get upset?”) on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Not at all) to 7 (Most of the
time). Higher scores on the PARYC-I indicate greater endorsement of more effective and
positive parenting behaviors.
The PARYC-I was adapted from the original Parenting Young Children Questionnaire
(PARYC) for use among parents of infants. The original PARYC is a 21-item self-report
measure designed to assess frequency of various parenting behaviors. The PARYC has been
shown to have strong internal consistency, convergent and predictive validity, as well as modest
to moderate correlations with other standardized assessments for parenting perceptions and child
behaviors (Mceachern, Dishion, Weaver, & Shaw, 2012).
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
11
Neural Correlates of Fathering
Family Video Task (FVT). The version of the task administered at the prenatal scan
visit presented 5-second video clips of the fathers’ partner interspersed with clips of an
unfamiliar pregnant woman and unfamiliar infant. The version administered at the postpartum
scan visit presented additional 5-second video clips of the fathers’ own infant. Video clips
presented a range of emotions, and fathers were asked to rate the emotional valence (positive to
negative) of each clip. This design allowed contrast of fathers’ activation to their own partners
vs. other woman, to infant vs. adult clips, and to their own infants vs. other infants in the
postpartum version. The FVT was developed and validated by the study PI, and is similarly
structured to other commonly used tasks that contrast self-relevant with unfamiliar social stimuli
(Saxbe et al., 2016; Saxbe, Del Piero, Immordino-Yang, et al., 2015; Saxbe, Del Piero, &
Margolin, 2015).
Video stimuli was drawn from prenatal and postpartum laboratory visits and edited to
produce 5-second clips for father’s own partner and own infant that feature the target individual
only. Partner clips were drawn from a laboratory-based interview task in which the partner’s
head and upper body was shown, and infant clips were drawn from a temperament task in which
infants were seated in a highchair. Control clips (other partner, other infant) were drawn from
volunteers in the community who were videotaped in the same lab space under the same
conditions. Clips were rated for emotional valence by baccalaureate-level research assistants in
the lab and selected to feature a roughly even number of clips that were both positive and
negative in valence. Each run consisted of five 12-second trials of each condition: own-partner,
unfamiliar-adult, unfamiliar-infant (prenatal scan); own-partner, unfamiliar-adult, own-infant,
unfamiliar-infant (postpartum scan). Condition order was optimized using a genetic algorithm
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
12
(Wager & Nichols, 2003) to ensure optimal differential overlap among hemodynamic responses
to each condition.
In the present study, we contrasted own-infant versus unfamiliar-infant in cross-sectional
analyses to specifically examine the neural correlates of infant stimuli.
Table 2. Summary of Study Measures
Study Construct Method of
Inquiry
Measure Timepoint
1, 2 Neural
Activation
Task-based
fMRI
FVT Prenatal
6-month Postpartum
1 Father-Infant
Attachment
Self-report PAAS, MAI Prenatal
6-month Postpartum
1 Parenting
Behaviors
Self-report PARYC-I Prenatal
6-month Postpartum
Covariates
Father Age Self-report Demographics Prenatal
Father Education Self-report Demographics Prenatal
Fetal/Infant Age Parent-report Demographics Prenatal
6-month Postpartum
Image Acquisition
Neural activation was assessed from the FVT, a 7.5-minute task-based fMRI sequence,
during the prenatal and postpartum MRI visits. Fathers underwent the following fMRI sequence:
174 volumes, 64 x 64 matrix; repetition time [TR] = 2000 ms; echo time [TE] = 25 ms; flip angle
= 90°; voxel dimensions = 3 x 3 x 2.5 mm; slice thickness = 2.5 mm. Scans were conducted
using a 3.0 Tesla Siemens MAGNETOM Prisma
fit
scanner. Additionally, a high-resolution
MPRAGE Coronal image with the following sequence was obtained for anatomical reference
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
13
within the same imaging session: repetition time [TR] = 2530 ms; echo time [TE] = 3.13 ms; flip
angle = 10°; voxel dimensions = 1 x 1 x 1 mm.
Image Analysis
Pre-processing
Data analysis and preprocessing was performed using the FMRIB Software Library
(FSL; www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl). Non-brain voxels in anatomical images were removed using
FSL’s BET (Brain Extraction Tool)(Smith, 2002). FMRI data processing was conducted using
FEAT (FMRI Expert Analysis Tool) Version 6.00, part of FSL (FMRIB's Software Library,
www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl). Registration to high resolution structural and standard space images
was performed using FLIRT (Jenkinson, Bannister, Brady, & Smith, 2002; Jenkinson & Smith,
2001), and registration from high resolution structural to standard space was further refined using
FNIRT nonlinear registration (J. Andersson, Jenkinson, & Smith, 2010; J. L. R. Andersson,
Jenkinson, & Smith, 2007). The following pre-statistics processing was applied: motion
correction using MCFLIRT(Jenkinson et al., 2002); slice-timing correction using Fourier-space
time-series phase-shifting; spatial smoothing using a Gaussian kernel of FWHM 6.0mm; grand-
mean intensity normalization of the entire 4D dataset by a single multiplicative factor.
Study 1: Cross-sectional task-based analyses
Preprocessed data were analyzed within a GLM using a multilevel mixed-effects design.
Each component of the task was entered in as a regressor (own-partner trials, other-partner trials,
own-infant trials, other-infant trials) and modeled by convolving the task design with a double-
gamma hemodynamic response function with a phase of 0 s. The task periods were defined from
the beginning of each 5-second video clip to the stimulus offset of the end of that video clip.
Each subject’s FVT runs were concatenated in a second-level analysis. Contrasts of interest were
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
14
constructed as linear combinations of explanatory variables to examine condition effects (i.e.,
own-infant > unfamiliar-infant; unfamiliar-infant > own-infant). Statistical maps were generated
for each functional scan at the individual subject level.
Higher-level analysis was carried out using FMRIB's Local Analysis of Mixed Effects
(FLAME)(Woolrich, Behrens, Beckmann, Jenkinson, & Smith, 2004). We computed group-level
brain-activity maps for each of the condition effects across all subjects using FLAME to produce
contrast-level activity maps. To account for multiple comparisons, we applied cluster
thresholding using Gaussian Random Field theory in order to provide a more sensitive correction
than voxel-based methods. We tested relationships between group-level brain activity and our
measures of interest: PAAS, MAI, and PARYC-I using separate general linear models (GLMs).
Additionally, we examined potential confounds (i.e., father’s education, father’s age at
postpartum scan, and infant age) using separate GLMs; these confounds were not significantly
associated with group-level activation and were dropped from further analyses.
Study 2: Longitudinal task-based analyses
Longitudinal task-based data underwent the same preprocessing as cross-sectional data;
however, functional images were registered to an individual-specific high-resolution anatomical
image. This image was created using an iterative procedure, in order to create a shared space for
later analysis of prenatal and postpartum functional data. First, the prenatal anatomical image
(T11) was registered to the postpartum anatomical image (T12) for each subject. T11 was warped
into the space of T12 and the two images were averaged together to create a common template.
Next, both T11 and T12 were registered to this common template, warped into the same space,
and averaged to create a new common template. This procedure was repeated until the images
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
15
produced are approximately identical (i.e., 5 iterations). This allowed for optimal subject
registration of structural and functional data across timepoints.
Preprocessed data were analyzed within a GLM using a multilevel mixed-effects design.
Each component of the task was entered in as a regressor (own-partner trials, unfamiliar-adult
trials, own-infant trials, unfamiliar-infant trials) and modeled by convolving the task design with
a double-gamma hemodynamic response function with a phase of 0 s. In each subject’s fixed-
effects analysis, a GLM was created using regressors of interest to distinguish events: neural
response to infant video stimuli at prenatal and postpartum, neural response to adult video
stimuli at prenatal and postpartum. The event periods were defined from the beginning of each 5-
second video clip to the stimulus offset of the end of that video clip. Contrasts of interest were
constructed as linear combinations of explanatory variables to examine condition effects (i.e.,
infant > rest). Statistical maps were generated for each functional scan at the individual subject
level. We used a linear mixed-effects regression, where fixed effects represent the average pre
vs. post change in our sample, and random effects account for individual variability around the
mean. To examine longitudinal changes (i.e., pre- to post-partum) in neural activation during
exposure to infant stimuli, we focused on differences in the infant > rest contrast at both
timepoints.
To assess whether neural activation in response to infant stimuli compared to rest
changed across the transition to parenthood, a higher-level analysis was performed at the group
level using a paired t-test of the infant > rest contrast at prenatal and postpartum. Higher-level
statistical modeling was carried out using FMRIB's Local Analysis of Mixed Effects (FLAME)
with a Z threshold = 3.1 (Woolrich et al., 2004). Follow-up analyses were performed to assess
potential task-related contributions to neural activation and better isolate infant-related neural
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
16
response using the unfamiliar-adult > rest contrast at both timepoints. Higher-level analysis was
performed at the group level using a paired t-test of the unfamiliar-adult > rest contrast at
prenatal and postpartum to provide comparison to infant > rest. Higher-level statistical modeling
was carried out using FMRIB's Local Analysis of Mixed Effects (FLAME) with a Z threshold =
3.1 (Woolrich et al., 2004).
Results
Hypothesis 1: Own-infant versus unfamiliar-infant stimuli
Consistent with our predictions, we observed greater neural response to own-infant as
compared to unfamiliar-infant video stimuli in areas associated with caregiving and social
cognition, specifically areas of the precuneus, paracingulate gyrus, angular gyrus, and cingulate
gyrus (see Table 3; Figure 1a). As expected, we also found greater neural activation in response
to own- rather than unfamiliar-infant stimuli in regions associated with decision-making and
reinforcement, specifically two areas within the orbitofrontal cortex (see Table 3; Figure 1a).
Additional areas of greater neural response to own-infant as compared to unfamiliar-infant
stimuli were found in the inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis and temporal pole (see Table 3;
Figure 1a).
There were no areas for which greater activation in response to unfamiliar-infant as
compared to own-infant video stimuli was observed.
Hypothesis 2: Associations with attachment and parenting behaviors
Associations with antenatal attachment: There were no areas for which antenatal
attachment was associated with increased activation in response to own-infant stimuli as
compared to unfamiliar-infant stimuli.
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
17
Unexpectedly, there was one area in the precuneus for which fathers’ neural activation in
response to own-infant stimuli as compared to unfamiliar-infant stimuli was inversely associated
with antenatal attachment, such that greater antenatal attachment was associated with decreased
activation in the own-infant > unfamiliar-infant contrast (see Table 3; see Figure 1b).
Associations with postpartum attachment: There were no areas for which postpartum
attachment was significantly associated with increased or decreased neural activation in response
to own-infant stimuli as compared to unfamiliar-infant stimuli.
Associations with postpartum parenting behaviors: There were no areas for which
postpartum parenting behaviors were significantly associated with increased or decreased neural
activation in response to own-infant stimuli as compared to unfamiliar-infant stimuli.
Table 3. Study 1: Cross-sectional cluster information
MNI Coordinates Voxels Z Value
X Y Z
Own Infant > Unfamiliar Infant
Precuneus -2 -64 16 4086 5.14
Paracingulate Gyrus 0 52 22 2495 5.38
Angular Gyrus -56 -60 20 594 4.53
Frontal Orbital Cortex -42 20 -16 436 4.6
Inferior Frontal Gyrus, pars opercularis 48 20 24 400 4.42
Cingulate Gyrus, posterior 6 -20 26 358 4.24
Temporal Pole -50 4 -30 182 4.15
Frontal Orbital Cortex 28 16 -20 157 4.46
Associations with prenatal attachment
Precuneus -10 -60 12 138 4.05
Associations with postpartum attachment
None - - - - -
Associations with postpartum parenting behaviors
None - - - - -
Unfamiliar Infant > Own Infant
None - - - - -
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
18
Hypothesis 3: Longitudinal changes in neural response to infant stimuli
Consistent with our predictions, we found increased neural response to unfamiliar-infant
video stimuli postpartum as compared to prenatally in areas of the precuneus, superior lateral
occipital cortex, and paracingulate gyrus (see Table 4; Figure 2a).
Unexpectedly, we observed decreased neural response to unfamiliar-infant video stimuli
postpartum as compared to prenatally in areas of the inferior lateral occipital cortex, left
putamen, orbitofrontal cortex, and left thalamus (see Table 4; Figure 2b).
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
19
Follow-up analyses using unfamiliar-adult contrasts: Our first follow-up analyses
examined the unfamiliar-adult > rest and rest > unfamiliar-adult contrasts. Similarly to the
findings from our longitudinal analyses of neural response to own-infant stimuli, we observed
decreased neural response to unfamiliar-adult video stimuli postpartum as compared to
prenatally in areas of the inferior lateral occipital cortex, supplementary motor area, insular
cortex, and frontal pole (see Table 4; Figure 2c).
We observed increased neural response to unfamiliar-adult video stimuli postpartum as
compared to prenatally in areas of the precuneus, superior lateral occipital cortex, and inferior
temporal gyrus (see Table 4; Figure 2d).
We ran additional follow-up analyses to test unfamiliar-infant > unfamiliar-adult and
unfamiliar adult > unfamiliar-infant contrasts. We found no areas for which neural activation
changed in response to unfamiliar-infant versus unfamiliar-adult stimuli across the prenatal to
postpartum time period.
Table 4. Study 2: Longitudinal cluster information
Region MNI Coordinates Voxels
Z
Value
X Y Z
Unfamiliar Infant > Rest
Lateral Occipital Cortex, inferior -42 -80 4 31778 11.8
L Putamen -22 4 6 397 4.62
Frontal Orbital Cortex -32 26 0 375 6.63
L Thalamus -14 -20 12 113 4.31
Rest > Unfamiliar Infant
Precuneus Cortex -2 -58 30 1098 6.51
Lateral Occipital Cortex, superior -46 -70 40 477 6.29
Paracingulate Gyrus -10 52 -2 304 5.07
Follow-up analyses
Unfamiliar Adult > Rest
Lateral Occipital Cortex, inferior division -44 -80 2 9276 10.8
Supplementary Motor Cortex -2 2 54 8700 9.92
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
20
Lateral Occipital Cortex, inferior division 44 -80 0 7346 10.1
Insular Cortex -32 24 0 958 7.29
Frontal Pole -36 38 16 235 4.37
Rest > Unfamiliar Adult
Precuneus Cortex -4 -58 24 218 4.55
Lateral Occipital Cortex, superior division -50 -72 32 147 3.95
Inferior Temporal Gyrus, temporooccipital part -58 -56 -12 103 4.6
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
21
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
22
Discussion
In the current studies, we examined fathers’ neural responses to videotaped infant stimuli
across the transition to parenthood, examining both cross-sectional differences in own-infant vs
other-infant stimuli at postpartum, and longitudinal changes in responses to an unfamiliar infant
from prenatal to postpartum. In the first study, we found differences in fathers’ neural response
to own versus unfamiliar infant stimuli among key regions implicated in social cognitive and
reward-related processes. Moreover, our results indicate that these differences in neural
activation were associated with fathers’ self-reported antenatal attachment. Consistent with our
hypotheses, we found that own versus other infant stimuli evoked greater neural activation in
neural regions associated with caregiving (i.e., areas of the precuneus, paracingulate gyrus,
angular gyrus, and cingulate gyrus) and those associated with higher-level motivation-based
decision-making (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex). Unexpectedly, fathers who reported stronger
attachment with their infant prenatally showed decreased activation in an area of the precuneus
when viewing their own infant compared to an unfamiliar infant. We found no areas for which
postpartum attachment or parenting behaviors were significantly associated with increased or
decreased neural activation in response to own-infant stimuli as compared to unfamiliar-infant
stimuli.
In our second study, we found longitudinal changes in neural activation in response to
infant stimuli indicating that fathers’ neural response to such images change across the transition
to parenthood. We observed decreased neural response to unfamiliar-infant video stimuli
postpartum as compared to prenatally in areas of the inferior lateral occipital cortex, left
putamen, orbitofrontal cortex and insular cortex, and left thalamus. Consistent with our
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
23
predictions, we found increased neural response to unfamiliar-infant video stimuli postpartum as
compared to prenatally in areas implicated in social cognition (i.e., precuneus and posterior
cingulate gyrus, superior lateral occipital cortex, and paracingulate gyrus). Interestingly, follow-
up analyses examining neural response to unfamiliar-adult stimuli found similar areas
demonstrating increased neural response postpartum as compared to prenatally (i.e., precuneus,
superior lateral occipital cortex, and inferior temporal gyrus).
In keeping with our Study 1 hypotheses, we observed greater neural response to own-
infant versus unfamiliar-infant stimuli in areas associated with social cognition: precuneus,
paracingulate gyrus, cingulate gyrus, and angular gyrus; as well as those involved in reward-
related decision-making: two areas in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The precuneus is a key area
involved in self-referential processing and socioemotional functioning, as well as a variety of
higher-order cognitive functions (Cavanna, 2007; Northoff et al., 2006). Research has indicated
that the precuneus is involved in emotional attributions and mental representations of self and
others, and may play an important role in parents’ response to their own baby’s face (Cavanna,
2007; Cavanna & Trimble, 2006; Noriuchi et al., 2008; Northoff et al., 2006; Ochsner et al.,
2004; Wan et al., 2014). Prior neuroimaging studies have found greater activity in the precuneus
in response to linked with more positive parenting behaviors (e.g., parental warmth, involved
caregiving) (Morgan et al., 2017). Greater activation in this area in response to own-infant
stimuli suggests these images are more strongly evocative of socioemotional processing and may
reflect fathers’ stronger emotional connection to their own infant compared to an unfamiliar
infant. Greater activation in response to own-infant versus unfamiliar-infant faces has also been
observed in the cingulate gyrus and paracingulate, key regions associated with mentalizing and
Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities (Feldman, 2015; Gobbini, Leibenluft, Santiago, & Haxby, 2004;
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
24
Leibenluft et al., 2004). Prior work examining maternal response to infant stimuli has found
greater activation in these regions when mothers view pictures of their own infant’s face
compared to an unfamiliar infant (Leibenluft et al., 2004), suggesting that these regions may be
associated with maternal emotional response, attachment, and empathy.
The angular gyrus is associated with an array of social cognitive processes, including
inferring others’ mental state and participation in inhibitory control during conflict resolution
(Buckner, Andrews-Hanna, & Schacter, 2008; Cascio, Lauharatanahirun, Lawson, Farah, &
Falk, 2022; Mar, 2011; Nee, Wager, & Jonides, 2007; Spreng, Mar, & Kim, 2009; Wager et al.,
2005). While the present studies centered on investigating neural response in areas associated
with socioemotional functioning (e.g., mentalizing), reward-signaling, and prosocial behaviors
(e.g., parental warmth), inhibitory functioning is equally important to effective parenting and
areas associated with these processes play an important role in caregiving behaviors. Studies
have consistently shown that the angular gyrus participates in the brain’s “default-mode
network” a network closely associated with humans’ ability to empathize and understand
others—traits essential to supportive and successful parenting (Andrews-Hanna, Reidler,
Sepulcre, Poulin, & Buckner, 2010; Buckner et al., 2008; Davidov & Grusec, 2006; Maccoby &
Martin, 1983; Rilling, 2013; Shulman et al., n.d.; Steinberg, 2001). Greater activation in the
angular gyrus has generally been shown to correlate with stronger social cognitive abilities (e.g.,
mentalizing, ToM) (Buckner et al., 2008; Cardenas et al., 2021; Cascio et al., 2022; Mar, 2011;
Nee et al., 2007; Spreng et al., 2009; Wager et al., 2005). Increased activation in the angular
gyrus among fathers in response to seeing their own infant’s face may indicate greater
recruitment of areas associated with empathic abilities and mentalizing when viewing their own
infant’s face, compared to an unfamiliar infant’s face.
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
25
Another region with relevance to caregiving is the OFC: a key hub involved in social-
cognition and reward-processing. Neuroimaging literature suggests that the OFC serves as a
nexus for the integration and coordination of sensory information, autonomic regulation,
prediction-based learning, as well as emotion- and reward-related decision-making (Kolk &
Rakic, 2022; Parsons, Stark, Young, Stein, & Kringelbach, 2013; Rakic, 2009; Zald et al., 2006).
Moreover, a growing body of neuroimaging research suggests that the OFC may be critically
involved in human caregiving behavior (Lorberbaum et al., 2002; Parsons et al., 2013). Several
studies have shown activation of the OFC in response to infant, but not adult, faces, indicating
that this region may be specifically involved in evaluating and responding to infant stimuli
(Glocker et al., 2009; Leibenluft et al., 2004; Montoya et al., 2012; Nitschke et al., 2004; Ranote
et al., 2004; Strathearn et al., 2008). Our findings are consistent with prior work showing
differences in maternal response to own-infant faces compared to unfamiliar-infant faces in OFC
and other reward-processing regions (Strathearn et al., 2008). These results suggest that fathers
engage neural structures associated with emotion- and reward-related decision-making more
strongly when viewing their own infant as compared to an unfamiliar baby. Taken in aggregate,
this pattern of findings is generally consistent with prior literature examining neural correlates of
caregiving among mothers and suggests that key structures involved in social cognition,
coordinating responses to emotionally salient stimuli, and reward-related decision-making are
also involved in male caregiving.
We also found that differences in fathers’ neural activation in response to own- versus
unfamiliar-infant stimuli were associated with their self-reported attachment—albeit in a
direction that contradicted our second hypothesis. Unexpectedly, we found diminished neural
response to own-infant stimuli compared to unfamiliar-infant stimuli associated with greater self-
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
26
reported antenatal attachment in an area of the precuneus. While research generally shows
increased activation of the precuneus is associated with more effective caregiving behaviors and
attitudes (e.g., greater parent-infant attachment), some studies have found that this relationship
may be mediated by parent variables like depression (Morgan et al., 2017). It is possible that
father variables, like depressive symptoms, may explain this otherwise unexpected result and
future work should further explore potential mediators of these relationships. Moreover, we
found no associations between self-reported postpartum attachment or postpartum parenting
behaviors and differences in neural response to own- versus unfamiliar-infant stimuli. Given that
prior neuroimaging work in mothers has consistently found associations between differences in
neural response to own- versus unfamiliar-infant stimuli and aspects of caregiving (e.g.,
attachment, parental warmth, positive parenting behaviors), it may be that our sample size and/or
limitations associated with self-report measures reduced our ability to detect these effects in our
sample of fathers. However, it is also possible that while these associations may exist among
mothers, they do not hold true among paternal caregivers. Our pattern of results warrants
replication to further explore the role of precuneus and other neural regions in father-infant
attachment and parenting behaviors.
Consistent with our Study 2 predictions, we found increased neural response postpartum
compared to prenatally in response to unfamiliar-infant video stimuli in areas of the precuneus,
paracingulate gyrus, and superior lateral occipital cortex (LOC). Prior literature examining
empathic abilities has demonstrated associations between socioemotional functioning and the
LOC. The LOC is generally associated with visual perception and object recognition (see Grill-
Spector et al., 2001); however, more recent studies have demonstrated its involvement in key
functions related to social cognition, including self-representation (Cazzato, Mian, Serino, Mele,
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
27
& Urgesi, 2015), as well as dimensions of nonverbal and verbal communication, particularly face
perception (Aleman & Swart, 2008; Gauthier, Skudlarski, Gore, & Anderson, 2000; Gschwind,
Pourtois, Schwartz, Van De Ville, & Vuilleumier, 2012; Pierce, Haist, Sedaghat, & Courchesne,
2004). Nonverbal communication, especially, may be instrumental in early caregiving and
establishment of reciprocal behavioral patterns underlying parent-infant attachment. Indeed,
emerging research suggests that the LOC may function to facilitate social openness and
emotional connection (Jack, Boyatzis, Khawaja, Passarelli, & Leckie, 2013). Increased
postpartum activation in precuneus, paracingulate gyrus, and LOC—regions associated with key
social cognitive abilities (e.g., self-referential thinking, empathic ability, mentalizing, ToM)—
may reflect greater emotional salience of infant-related stimuli among fathers following the birth
of their own child.
We observed decreased neural response to unfamiliar-infant video stimuli postpartum as
compared to prenatally in areas of OFC, the inferior LOC, left putamen, and left thalamus. The
finding of reduced neural activation in OFC across the prenatal to postpartum time period is
unexpected. While the neural changes accompanying transitions to fatherhood have never before
been directly studied, given the role of OFC in coordinating social cognitive abilities and reward-
related behaviors, it is surprising that activation in this area would decrease in response to infant
stimuli. Taken together with findings from our cross-sectional analyses, which found increased
OFC response to own-infant versus unfamiliar-infant, it is possible that father’s emotional and
reward-related processing becomes highly specific towards their own infants following the birth
of their first child. It is important to note that, in the postpartum version of the task, fathers were
shown video clips of the unfamiliar-infant interleaved with video clips of their own-infant (as
well as their own-partner and an unfamiliar pregnant woman). Exposure to images of their own
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
28
infant may have affected fathers’ neural response to images of the unfamiliar-infant and
influenced neural response postpartum.
The finding of decreased activation in LOC is likewise somewhat unexpected. Research
has indicated that the LOC is functionally segregated and that the specific roles of this structure
may differ between superior and inferior sections, though the exact subregional distinctions and
associated functions remain poorly understood (Grill-Spector, Kourtzi, & Kanwisher, 2001;
Lerner, Hendler, Ben-Bashat, Harel, & Malach, 2001). It is possible that the decreased activity in
inferior LOC and increased activity in superior LOC postpartum reflects changes in fathers’
visual processing of infant faces over the transition to fatherhood.
Also unexpected was our finding of decreased activation in the thalamus in response to
infant stimuli postpartum as compared to prenatally. The thalamus is a key region in the thalamo-
cingulate circuit, a network that has been proposed to critically underpin mammalian caregiving
(Lorberbaum et al., 2002; MacLean, 1985; Rilling, 2013; Rilling & Mascaro, 2017; Swain,
Lorberbaum, Kose, & Strathearn, 2007). Previous studies have found increased activation in this
region in response to infant faces (Caria et al., 2012; Leibenluft et al., 2004; Strathearn et al.,
2008; Swain et al., 2007). Our finding of decreased postpartum activation in this region is,
therefore, surprising and warrants replication.
To assess potential task-related contributions to neural activation and better isolate infant-
related neural response, we assessed longitudinal changes in fathers’ neural response to
unfamiliar-adult for comparison. Results from these analyses showed highly similar patterns of
change in neural response to unfamiliar-infant and unfamiliar-adult stimuli across prenatal and
postpartum timepoints. Specifically, we observed increased neural response to unfamiliar-adult
video stimuli postpartum as compared to prenatally in areas of the precuneus, superior LOC, and
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
29
inferior temporal gyrus (an area generally associated with visual processing). This pattern of
results is highly similar to what we observed in regard to unfamiliar-infant stimuli, suggesting
that increased activation in these areas may reflect factors associated with the postpartum
timepoint (e.g., task repetition) than changes in response to infant-stimuli specifically.
We observed decreased neural response to unfamiliar-adult video stimuli postpartum as
compared to prenatally in areas of the inferior LOC, supplementary motor area, insular cortex,
and frontal pole. The frontal pole is believed to play an important role in higher-order cognition
(e.g., attentional switching, regulating behavior related to values and emotions, and integrating
motivational information); however, its exact functions remain incompletely understood
(Burgess, Dumontheil, & Gilbert, 2007; Marshall et al., 2022; Orr, Smolker, & Banich, 2015).
The supplementary motor area is a key region in mentalizing networks supporting empathic
abilities, perspective-taking, and ToM (Caria et al., 2012; Frith, 1996; Haggard, 2008; Seghezzi,
Zirone, Paulesu, & Zapparoli, 2019). Activation within this region is thought to indicate motor
empathy (e.g., facial mimicry) and coordination of voluntary motor functions, including those
associated with social behaviors (Caria et al., 2012; Carpenter, Uebel, & Tomasello, 2013; Frith,
1996; Nachev, Kennard, & Husain, 2008). Decreased activation in these regions may reflect
reduced engagement of emotional-regulation associated with sociocognitive functions (e.g.,
motor empathy) in response to unfamiliar-adult faces. As noted earlier about the unfamiliar-
infant stimuli, both unfamiliar-infant and unfamiliar-adult video clips were interleaved with clips
showing fathers’ own-infant and own-partner, which may have affected their neural activation in
response to the unfamiliar face conditions.
Given the similarities between longitudinal changes in fathers’ neural response to
unfamiliar-infant and unfamiliar-adult images across the transition to parenthood, it is difficult to
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
30
draw conclusions about how fatherhood changes brain activation in response to infant stimuli.
Indeed, additional follow-up analyses examining longitudinal changes in response to unfamiliar-
infant versus unfamiliar-adult stimuli yielded null results, indicating that differences in neural
response to these stimuli did not change significantly across the transition to parenthood. It
appears that while fathers’ brains did respond differently to infant-stimuli following the birth of
their first child, their neural response to unfamiliar-adult stimuli changed in the same way. This
may indicate that the observed changes in neural activation are better attributed to effects
associated with task-repetition or to how fatherhood may shape neural response to human facial
stimuli, infant or adult. Further study is warranted to replicate findings and better tease apart
effects associated with task and/or the postpartum timepoint in general, and those related to
changes in response to infant stimuli, specifically.
Strengths, Limitations, & Future Directions
It is important to consider several limitations of the current studies. Sample sizes for
these studies were small (n = 30-31) , as we were constrained by the longitudinal study design
and focus on the specific population of expectant fathers. While many published fMRI studies in
the parenting literature have sample sizes <20, smaller sample sizes increase difficulty of
detecting true effects and may limit generalizability of study findings. A sensitivity power
analysis indicated that our study was sufficiently powered to detect medium-to-large effect sizes
(a = 0.05, d = 0.52). Another important consideration is that our sample reflects partnered fathers
who were willing to participate in an intensive study and these individuals may not be
representative of all fathers. Additionally, four participants’ postpartum fMRI scans were
scanned during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have had affected dimensions of cognition
or behavior relevant to constructs examined in our research. While this represents only a small
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
31
subset of our total sample, a full accounting of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was
beyond the scope of these studies and the potential impact of this situation remains an important
factor to consider in the interpretation of our results. Our studies utilized self-report
questionnaires for measures of paternal attachment and postpartum parenting. While our
measures are well-validated and most are widely used, all self-report questionnaires are limited
by certain methodological issues (e.g., response bias) and may not be as informative as other
measures (e.g., behavioral observation).
Despite some limitations, these studies have several notable strengths. Importantly, ours
is the first study to examine changes in fathers’ neural activation pre- to postpartum in
association with father-infant attachment and parenting behaviors. No prior research has yet
examined changes in fathers’ neural activation in response to infant video stimuli across the
transition to fatherhood. Moreover, these studies include a robust neuroimaging approach that
combines cross-sectional and longitudinal neuroimaging, allowing us to leverage the advantages
of each individual approach and mitigate weaknesses.
Future work should further examine neural mechanisms underlying the transition to
fatherhood by strengthening behavioral assessment through inclusion of more robust
observational measure and more directly testing relationships between father variables and child
outcomes. Videotaped parent-child interactions offer especially rich data and may allow deeper
insight into real-time parent-child bonding patterns, interactional strategies, and actual parenting
behaviors. Moreover, the inclusion of child outcome data would allow for relationships between
father variables (e.g., neural activation, parenting behaviors) and dimensions of their child’s
well-being (e.g., socioemotional functioning) to be more directly tested, allowing keener insight
into how fathers shape their children’s development. Future work should also incorporate
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
32
additional neuroimaging approaches (e.g., examining neural network connectivity).
Neuroimaging literature highlights the importance of examining the brain in-concert to better
understand neural functioning on a network-level. Certain neural networks, like the thalamo-
cingulate network, may have important implications for parenting but have not yet been
specifically studied in expectant fathers (Lorberbaum et al., 1999; Rilling, 2013). Future work
should examine patterns of neural connectivity within this and other networks to gain further
insight into how expectant fathers’ neurobiology maps onto their later parenting behavior.
In conclusion, the current studies address critical gaps in existing literature examining
fathers’ transition to parenthood and probe whether differences in fathers’ social-cognitive brain
circuitry may be predictive of parenting behavior and later father-child attachment. This project
represents an important step in investigating how prenatal neurobiological factors contribute to
later fathering behavior and how the fathering brain develops across the transition to parenthood.
NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF FATHERHOOD
33
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Valen, Narcis A.
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Neurobiological correlates of fathers’ transition to parenthood
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fatherhood
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