From the BPS Research Digest
The researchers found that compared with non-fathers, there was a marked increase in the connective branching between brain cells in the front of the marmoset fathers’ brains. Kozorovitskiy told The Digest that this could lead to enhanced information processing, thus promoting paternal behaviour. “Paternal behaviour in marmosets is a complex task, indeed – the infants must be watched over, picked up whenever necessary and handed back to the mother for feeding at regular intervals”, she said. The marmoset fathers’ brains also had an increased number of receptors for vasopressin, a hormone that’s known to be associated with bonding.
But how relevant is this research to human fathers? Kozorovitskiy again: “Since many human fathers are intimately involved in child-care, their brains might show somewhat similar changes. Yet, male marmosets are extremely engaged fathers and carry their offspring almost all the time during the first month or two of the infant’s life, and it remains to be seen how the brains of human dads measure up”.
I think this is why I also started blogging. When I wrote regularly for the college newspaper during my MBA, it felt great to be under pressure to opine, communicate and analyse a range of issues. And of course, it was a welcome distraction from my studies, but I think it also complemented my studying.
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