GoKawiilFathers show changes in some of the same brain areas as mothers, but the effect of parenthood on dads isn’t nearly as well studied
Father’s Day is an opportunity to recognize the efforts of dads everywhere. But becoming a father is more than just a lifestyle change—it alters one’s brain, too.
Scientific American spoke with Devika Bhushan, a public health physician and adjunct faculty member at Stanford University School of Medicine, who studies gender norms, about the ways in which fatherhood affects men’s brains and the mental health struggles dads face. Bhushan also served as acting surgeon general of California in 2022.
The following article is based on our conversation with Bhushan.
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
“Dad brain” is real
Most of the research on parental brain changes focus on those that occur during pregnancy and early motherhood. Much less attention has been given to the neurological and mental changes that occur in fatherhood, Bhushan says.
A 2014 study compared the brains of heterosexual, primary caregiver mothers, heterosexual, secondary caregiver fathers and gay primary caregiver fathers. All three groups showed brain changes in a “parental caregiving network” comprising a part of the brain’s cortex called the mentalizing network, which plays a role in visual processing and empathy, and a subcortical emotional processing network, which involves vigilance and reward processing. The mothers showed greater activation of the emotional network, whereas the heterosexual, secondary caregiver fathers had more activation of the mentalizing network. Gay, primary caregiver fathers displayed some changes in the emotional network that resembled those seen in heterosexual mothers, but they also showed some similarities to the brain changes seen in heterosexual fathers.
A more recent study in 2023 of men in Spain and California showed that they experienced reductions in gray matter after they became fathers—much like studies have shown in first-time mothers. This shrinking likely doesn’t represent a decline in brain function but rather a “pruning” of connections that could make the brain more efficient for the demands of caregiving.
... continue reading