Karen Bales: UC Davis Department of Psychology

In socially monogamous mammals like humans, many individuals such as mothers, fathers, and alloparents often display parenting behaviors. While the hormonal and neural basis of maternal care has been well-studied, both fathering and alloparenting remain more mysterious. Studies from prairie voles and titi monkeys, both monogamous mammals, implicate oxytocin, vasopressin, and glucocorticoids in the regulation of these behaviors. While these hormones may facilitate parenting, developmental data also suggest that the exposure to infants itself changes the brain in a long-term fashion in both males and females. I will discuss what is known about the neurobiology of parenting in males, females, and alloparents, and what opportunities and challenges exist in studying these topics in humans