The Parental Brain

Abstract The Parental Brain: Mechanisms, Development, and Evolution takes a three-pronged approach to the parental brain. The first part of the book deals with neural mechanisms. Subcortical circuits are crucially involved in parental behavior, and, for most mammals, the physiological events of pregnancy and parturition prime these circuits so that they become responsive to infant stimuli, allowing for the onset of maternal behavior at parturition. However, since paternal behavior and alloparental behavior occur in some mammalian species, alternate mechanisms are shown to exist that regulate the access of infant stimuli to these circuits. In humans, cortical circuits interact with subcortical circuits so that parental feeling states (emotions) and cognitions can be translated into parental behavior. The section on development emphasizes the experiential basis of the intergenerational continuity of normal and abnormal maternal behavior in animals and humans: The way a mother treats her infant affects the development of the infant’s brain and subsequent maternal behavior. Genetic factors, including epigenetic processes and gene by environment (G × E) interactions, are also involved. The chapter on evolution presents evidence that the parental brain most likely provided the foundation or template for other strong prosocial bonds. In particular, cortical and subcortical parental brain circuits have probably been utilized by natural selection to promote the evolution of the hyper-cooperation and hyper-prosociality that exist in human social groups. A unique aspect of this book is its integration of animal and human research to create a complete understanding of the parental brain.