I'm not a big fan of the Hallmark holidays – those ones that you just know were made up at some point in the past, mainly to sell greeting cards. But anyhow, happy first Father's Day to me!
Most of us know the ways that parenthood affects mothers. But in keeping with the theme of the day, here's an article from Slate magazine outlining some new findings about how parenthood affects fathers (er, if you're a marmoset):
There's also preliminary but tantalizing evidence that fatherhood can change the brain. A 2006 study
found enhancements in the prefrontal cortex of the father marmoset.
After childbirth, the neurons in this region showed greater
connectivity, suggesting that having young children could boost the
part of the brain responsible for planning and memory, skills parents
need when having kids gives them more to keep track of. The neurons
also had more receptors for vasopressin, a hormone that has been shown
to prompt animal fathers to bond with offspring. (Receiving an
injection of vasopressin, for instance, prompts a male prairie vole to
cuddle and groom a youngster.)
(Thanks to Heather M. for the pointer to this article)
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