What happens to the brain of men after the birth of children: scientists conducted a study

In 2016, scientists published a first-of-its-kind study that showed the architecture of women's

brain changes dramatically during the firstpregnancy. This occurs due to the reduction of gray matter in areas that are involved in processing and responding to certain signals. Now scientists have found similar changes in men who became fathers for the first time.

It turned out that young fathers lost one or twopercentage of cerebral cortex volume after the birth of the first child. The changes mainly occurred in an area of ​​the brain known as the default mode network, DMN. This is a nervous network of interacting areas of the brain, active in a state when a person is not busy performing any task related to the outside world, but, on the contrary, is inactive, resting and daydreaming. Scientists note that it is associated with parental acceptance and warmth towards the child.

“Although such changes seem like a problem at first, they are actually an enhancement of the brain. It makes communication with a child more meaningful and natural,” the scientists write.

During the study, scientists studied the datamagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 40 heterosexual fathers, half of whom live in Spain and half in the United States, and a control group of seventeen childless men in Spain.

Fathers in Spain underwent brain scan beforepregnancy of their partners, and then again a few months after the birth of the child. The brains of Americans were scanned in the middle and late stages of their partners' pregnancies, and then again seven to eight months after the baby was born.

The researchers then compared the data withresults of the control group and found signs of brain plasticity in the cortical gray matter. This area is responsible for understanding social cues.

“We also found trends of decreasing volumeof the cerebral cortex in the default mode network and visual networks, as well as the preservation of subcortical structures in both samples of men who became fathers for the first time, ”the researchers write.

The results of the study showed that not onlywomen have an increased tendency to change to accommodate the birth of an infant. Men are equally capable of making important changes and play an equally important role in the lives of children.

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