In a new study that looked at brain change in first-time fathers, my colleagues and I found that brain volume loss was linked with more engagement in parenting but also more sleep problems and mental health symptoms. These results might point to a cost of caregiving, traditionally shouldered by women but increasingly borne by men also.
Research in rodents first identified remodeling of both the structure and function of the brain during pregnancy and parenthood. A new body of research is unearthing similar effects in human parents, too.
Gray matter shrank in first-time mothers post-pregnancy, theorized to aid in processing social information efficiently for sensitive caregiving, bonding, and responsiveness to infants.
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