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Bortolini T, Laport MC, Latgé-Tovar S, Fischer R, Zahn R, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. The extended neural architecture of human attachment: An fMRI coordinate-based meta-analysis of affiliative studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105584. [PMID: 38367888 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
Functional imaging studies and clinical evidence indicate that cortical areas relevant to social cognition are closely integrated with evolutionarily conserved basal forebrain structures and neighboring regions, enabling human attachment and affiliative emotions. The neural circuitry of human affiliation is continually being unraveled as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) becomes increasingly prevalent, with studies examining human brain responses to various attachment figures. However, previous fMRI meta-analyses on affiliative stimuli have encountered challenges, such as low statistical power and the absence of robustness measures. To address these issues, we conducted an exhaustive coordinate-based meta-analysis of 79 fMRI studies, focusing on personalized affiliative stimuli, including one's infants, family, romantic partners, and friends. We employed complementary coordinate-based analyses (Activation Likelihood Estimation and Signed Differential Mapping) and conducted a robustness analysis of the results. Findings revealed cluster convergence in cortical and subcortical structures related to reward and motivation, salience detection, social bonding, and cognition. Our study thoroughly explores the neural correlates underpinning affiliative responses, effectively overcoming the limitations noted in previous meta-analyses. It provides an extensive view of the neural substrates associated with affiliative stimuli, illuminating the intricate interaction between cortical and subcortical regions. Our findings significantly contribute to understanding the neurobiology of human affiliation, expanding the known human attachment circuitry beyond the traditional basal forebrain regions observed in other mammals to include uniquely human isocortical structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Bortolini
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Maria Clara Laport
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sofia Latgé-Tovar
- Institute of Psychiatry, Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Ronald Fischer
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil; School of Psychology, PO Box 600, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Roland Zahn
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; The Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil
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2
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Jang J, Kim HJ, Koh HY. Compensatory enhancement of paternal care in maternally neglected mice family. Anim Cells Syst (Seoul) 2023; 27:249-259. [PMID: 37818017 PMCID: PMC10561577 DOI: 10.1080/19768354.2023.2266006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Parental care strategies, ranging from biparental to uniparental, evolve based on factors affecting sexual conflict over care. Plasticity in how parents respond to reduction in each other's care effort is thus proposed to be important in the evolution of parental care behaviors. Models predict that 'obligate' biparental care is stable when a parent responds to reduced partner effort with 'partial' compensation, trading-off current and future reproduction. A meta-analysis of experimental studies on biparental birds also revealed partial compensation, supporting coevolution of parental care type and plasticity pattern. However, few studies have addressed this issue across different taxa and different parental care types. In laboratory mice, a female-biased 'facultative' biparental species, fathers paired with a competent mother rarely provide care. We show that, when mated with a pup-neglecting mutant mother, fathers increased care effort to 'fully' compensate for the lost maternal care in both pup survival rate and total care amount. Pup retrieval latency was significantly shorter, and neural activity in relevant brain regions twice as high, suggesting enhanced motivation. This study with mice not only opens a road to explore the neural correlates of paternal plasticity but will also help understand how behavioral plasticity contributes to adaptive evolution of parental care behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaewon Jang
- Brain Science Institute (BSI), Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Life Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hea-jin Kim
- Brain Science Institute (BSI), Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Division of Bio-Medical Science & Technology, KIST School, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hae-Young Koh
- Brain Science Institute (BSI), Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Life Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Division of Bio-Medical Science & Technology, KIST School, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Seoul, Republic of Korea
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3
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Diaz-Rojas F, Matsunaga M, Tanaka Y, Kikusui T, Mogi K, Nagasawa M, Asano K, Abe N, Myowa M. Development of the Paternal Brain in Humans throughout Pregnancy. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:396-420. [PMID: 36603042 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that paternal caregiving behaviors are reliant on neural pathways similar to those supporting maternal care. Interestingly, a greater variability exists in parental phenotypes in men than in women among individuals and mammalian species. However, less is known about when or how such variability emerges in men. We investigated the longitudinal changes in the neural, hormonal, and psychological bases of expression of paternal caregiving in humans throughout pregnancy and the first 4 months of the postnatal period. We measured oxytocin and testosterone, paternity-related psychological traits, and neural response to infant-interaction videos using fMRI in first-time fathers and childless men at three time points (early to mid-pregnancy, late pregnancy, and postnatal). We found that paternal-specific brain activity in prefrontal areas distinctly develops during middle-to-late pregnancy and is enhanced in the postnatal period. In addition, among fathers, the timing of the development of prefrontal brain activity was associated with specific parenting phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yukari Tanaka
- Kansai University, Suita, Japan.,Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo
| | | | | | | | - Kohei Asano
- Kyoto University, Japan.,Osaka University of Comprehensive Children Education, Japan
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Petanjek Z, Banovac I, Sedmak D, Hladnik A. Dendritic Spines: Synaptogenesis and Synaptic Pruning for the Developmental Organization of Brain Circuits. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 34:143-221. [PMID: 37962796 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-36159-3_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Synaptic overproduction and elimination is a regular developmental event in the mammalian brain. In the cerebral cortex, synaptic overproduction is almost exclusively correlated with glutamatergic synapses located on dendritic spines. Therefore, analysis of changes in spine density on different parts of the dendritic tree in identified classes of principal neurons could provide insight into developmental reorganization of specific microcircuits.The activity-dependent stabilization and selective elimination of the initially overproduced synapses is a major mechanism for generating diversity of neural connections beyond their genetic determination. The largest number of overproduced synapses was found in the monkey and human cerebral cortex. The highest (exceeding adult values by two- to threefold) and most protracted overproduction (up to third decade of life) was described for associative layer IIIC pyramidal neurons in the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.Therefore, the highest proportion and extraordinarily extended phase of synaptic spine overproduction is a hallmark of neural circuitry in human higher-order associative areas. This indicates that microcircuits processing the most complex human cognitive functions have the highest level of developmental plasticity. This finding is the backbone for understanding the effect of environmental impact on the development of the most complex, human-specific cognitive and emotional capacities, and on the late onset of human-specific neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zdravko Petanjek
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Ivan Banovac
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dora Sedmak
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ana Hladnik
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
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Witte AM, Riem MME, van der Knaap N, de Moor MHM, van IJzendoorn MH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ. The effects of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on fathers' neural responses to infant crying: A randomized controlled within-subject study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 140:105731. [PMID: 35334388 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
In a randomized double-blind within-subject control study we investigated the effects of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on neural reactivity to infant cry sounds in 70 first-time fathers in the first year of fatherhood. Additionally, we examined whether effects of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on neural reactivity were moderated by fathers' early childhood experiences. Neural reactivity to infant cry sounds (versus control sounds) was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Furthermore, participants reported on their childhood experiences of parental harsh discipline and parental love withdrawal. Whole brain analyses revealed no significant effect of vasopressin or oxytocin administration on neural activation in response to infant cry sounds. Region of interest analyses showed decreased amygdala activation in both the oxytocin condition and the vasopressin condition as compared to placebo. We found no moderating effects of fathers' early childhood experiences. Our findings suggest that oxytocin administration may decrease feelings of anxiety or aversion to a crying infant. Whether decreased amygdala activation after vasopressin administration might be explained by contextual factors (e.g., absence of high levels of threat, unfamiliarity of the infant) or represents an affiliative response to infant distress warrants further investigation. Findings of the present study showed that oxytocin and vasopressin are important hormones implicated in neural models of infant cry perception in fatherhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemieke M Witte
- Clinical Child & Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Madelon M E Riem
- Clinical Child & Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University, the Netherlands
| | - N van der Knaap
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marleen H M de Moor
- Clinical Child & Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marinus H van IJzendoorn
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Research Department of Clinical, Education and Health Psychology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, UCL, London, UK
| | - Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg
- Clinical Child & Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
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Provenzi L, Grumi S, Rodrigo MJ. Editorial: Neural and Epigenetic Factors in Parenting, Individual Differences and Dyadic Processes. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12040478. [PMID: 35448009 PMCID: PMC9028230 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12040478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Livio Provenzi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Serena Grumi
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Maria José Rodrigo
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Education, Faculty of Psychology, University of La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Spain;
- University Institute of Neuroscience, University of La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Spain
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Giannotti M, Gemignani M, Rigo P, Venuti P, De Falco S. The Role of Paternal Involvement on Behavioral Sensitive Responses and Neurobiological Activations in Fathers: A Systematic Review. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:820884. [PMID: 35355925 PMCID: PMC8959913 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.820884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
As fathering research has flourished, a growing body of studies has focused on behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms, respectively associated with caregiving sensitivity and responsiveness to infant stimuli. However, the association between these aspects and the key concept of paternal involvement in childcare (i.e., contribution in infant care in terms of time, availability, and responsibility) has been poorly investigated. The current work aims to systematically review the role of involvement in childcare on both neural activations and sensitive behaviors in fathers by examining (a) how paternal involvement has been measured and (b) whether paternal involvement has been associated with neurobiological activation and behavioral sensitive responses. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed quantitative studies, concerning fathers responding to infant stimuli at neurobiological or behavioral level, and including a quantitative measurement of paternal involvement in childcare. A quality rating for each study has been performed based on the measurements adopted to assess paternal involvement. Of 2,529 articles, 27 studies were included. According to our quality rating, 10 out of 27 studies included fairly good-standard measures for measuring paternal involvement, whereas 17 studies used good-standard measures. In addition, 11 studies provided details of paternal involvement in the context of neurobiological responses to infant stimuli, whereas 16 addressed paternal sensitive behaviors. Overall, only 8 studies reported relevant findings about the relationship between paternal involvement and neurobiological responses or sensitive behaviors in fathers. The present study is the first systematically evaluating the scope of paternal involvement in the field of Paternal Brain and fathers' sensitive responsiveness research. When high-standard measures are used, paternal involvement seems to play a significant role in modulating both the hormonal and the neural pathways associated with paternal behaviors. Remarkably, the role of paternal engagement may underpin an adaptive nurturance that is not dependent on pregnancy and childbirth but on caregiving experience. A promising positive link between paternal involvement and behavioral sensitivity may be expected in further studies, which will need to corroborate our conclusion by adopting detailed and appropriate measures assessing paternal involvement. As a future line of research, the inclusion of gay fathers may be beneficial for the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Giannotti
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Micol Gemignani
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Paola Rigo
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Paola Venuti
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Simona De Falco
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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Giannotti M, Gemignani M, Rigo P, Simonelli A, Venuti P, De Falco S. Disentangling the Effect of Sex and Caregiving Role: The Investigation of Male Same-Sex Parents as an Opportunity to Learn More About the Neural Parental Caregiving Network. Front Psychol 2022; 13:842361. [PMID: 35237218 PMCID: PMC8884537 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.842361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michele Giannotti
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- *Correspondence: Michele Giannotti
| | - Micol Gemignani
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Paola Rigo
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Alessandra Simonelli
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Paola Venuti
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Simona De Falco
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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