Testicular volume is inversely correlated with nurturing-related brain activity in human fathers

Despite the well-documented benefits afforded the children of invested fathers in modern Western societies, some fathers choose not to invest in their children. Why do some men make this choice? Life History Theory offers an explanation for variation in parental investment by positing a trade-off be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2013-09, Vol.110 (39), p.15746-15751
Main Authors: Mascaro, Jennifer S., Hackett, Patrick D., Rilling, James K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior
Biological Sciences
Brain
Brain - physiology
Brain Mapping
Child care
Child, Preschool
Children
Correlation analysis
Fathers
Female
Humans
Infant
Linear Models
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Men
Middle Aged
Mothers
Motivation
Organ Size
Parenting
Parents & parenting
Reproductive system
Sexual behavior
Testes
Testis - anatomy & histology
Testosterone
Young Adult
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Summary:Despite the well-documented benefits afforded the children of invested fathers in modern Western societies, some fathers choose not to invest in their children. Why do some men make this choice? Life History Theory offers an explanation for variation in parental investment by positing a trade-off between mating and parenting effort, which may explain some of the observed variance in human fathers' parenting behavior. We tested this hypothesis by measuring aspects of reproductive biology related to mating effort, as well as paternal nurturing behavior and the brain activity related to it. Both plasma testosterone levels and testes volume were independently inversely correlated with paternal caregiving. In response to viewing pictures of one's own child, activity in the ventral tegmental area—a key component of the mesolimbic dopamine reward and motivation system—predicted paternal caregiving and was negatively related to testes volume. Our results suggest that the biology of human males reflects a trade-off between mating effort and parenting effort, as indexed by testicular size and nurturing-related brain function, respectively.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1305579110