The Parental Brain - Mechanisms, Development, and Evolution

The Parental Brain: Mechanisms, Development, and Evolution explores the neural circuits and development of the parental brain, and the view that these circuits formed a template for the evolution of other types of prosocial bonds. The book is unique in its multilevel approach and integration of animal and human research.

List of contents

• Chapter 1. Introduction


• Chapter 2. Parental Behavior: Descriptions, Terms, and Definitions


• 1. Parental Behavior in Vertebrates


• 2. Parental Behavior in Mammals


• Chapter 3. Hormonal Control of Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals


• 1. Introduction


• 2. Hormonal Regulation of Maternal Behavior in Rats, Rabbits, and Sheep


• 3. Hormones and Maternal Behavior in Mice


• 4. The Maintenance of Maternal Behavior and the Onset-Maintenance Dichotomy in Rats


• Rabbits, and Sheep


• 5. Hormones and Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Primates


• 6. General Conclusions


• Chapter 4. Brain Mechanisms Regulating Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals: Oxytocin and Olfaction


• 1. Introduction


• 2. A Tour of the Rodent Brain


• 3. Oxytocin and Maternal Behavior


• 4. Olfaction and Maternal Behavior in Rodents, Rabbits, and Sheep


• 5. General Conclusions


• Chapter 5. Central Neural Circuits Regulating Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals


• 1. Introduction


• 2. The Essential Role of the Medial Preoptic Area


• 3. The Larger Neural Circuitry within Which the MPOA Operates to Influence Maternal


• Behavior


• 4. Neural Plasticity within Maternal Brain Circuits, the Maintenance of Maternal Behavior, and


• Maternal Memory


• 5. General Conclusions


• Chapter 6. Anxiety Reduction and Maternal Aggression in Postpartum Nonhuman Mammals


• 1. Introduction


• 2. Behavioral Characteristics of the Postpartum Reduction in Fearfulness


• 3. Behavioral Characteristics of the Postpartum Increase in Maternal Aggression


• 4. Opposing Roles of Oxytocin (OT) and Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) in Anxiety-


• Related Behaviors


• 5. The Neural Circuitry of Maternal Aggression


• 6. The Neural Circuitry of Fear/Anxiety and the Mechanisms Mediating its Postpartum


• Downregulation


• 7. Critical Evaluation of the Hypothesis that Decreased Activity within Fear/Anxiety Neural


• Circuits Exerts a Permissive Effect on the Occurrence of Maternal Aggression by Releasing


• Aggression Circuits from Inhibition


• 8. The Effects of High Activity within CRF Neural Systems on Infant-Directed Maternal Behavior


• 9. Conclusions


• Chapter 7. Alloparental Behavior and Paternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals


• 1. Introduction


• 2. The Laboratory Mouse as an Experimental Model of Allomaternal behavior


• 3. Alloparental Behavior in Prairie Voles


• 4. Alloparental Behavior in Marmosets and Tamarins


• 5. Conclusions on Alloparenting


• 6. Naturally Occurring Paternal Behavior


• 7. Experimentally-Induced Paternal Behavior in Mammalian Species that Naturally Exhibit a


• Uniparental Maternal Care System


• 8. Conclusions on Paternal Behavior


• Chapter 8. The Parental Brain in Humans


• 1. Introduction


• 2. Subcortical Neural Regions and Circuits Implicated in the Maternal Behavior of Women


• 3. Cortical Neural Regions and Circuits Relevant to Maternal Behavior in Women


• 4. Cortical Neural Activations Associated with Maternal Responsiveness in Women


• 5. Postpartum Depression


• 6. The Paternal Brain in Men


• 7. General Conclusions


• Chapter 9. Development of the Parental Brain in Nonhuman Mammals


• 1. Introduction


• 2. Normal Variations in Maternal Licking/Grooming of Pups Affect the Development of the


• MPOA-to-VTA-to-NA Circuit in Rodent Offspring


• 3. Normal Variations in Maternal Licking/Grooming of Pups Affect the Development of


• Neural Circuits that Regulate Stress Reactivity, Fearfulness, and Anxiety in Rodent Offspring


• 4. The Effects of Various Forms of Maternal Neglect of a Young Infant on the Subsequent


• Development of Maternal Behavior and its Associated Neural Systems in the Affected Infant


• 5. Conclusions


• Chapter 10. Development of the Parental Brain in Humans


• 1. Introduction


• 2. The Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Responsiveness: A Behavioral Analysis


• 3. Normal Variations in Parental Behavior are Related to the Development of the Parental Brain


• in Offspring


• 4. The Relationships Between Abnormal Parental Care and the Development of Neural Circuits


• that Could Impact Parental Behavior in the Affected Offspring


• 5. Conclusions


• Chapter 11. Evolutionary Perspectives on the Parental Brain


• 1. Introduction


• 2. Brain Modifications that May Underpin Alloparental Behavior


• 3. MPOA Interactions with the Mesolimbic DA System Regulate the Appetitive Aspects of


• Maternal Behavior, Male Sexual Behavior, and Female Sexual Behavior


• 4. Modifications to the Core MPOA-to-VTA-DA Circuit and the Formation of an Enduring


• Mother-Infant Bond in Mammals


• 5. The Neural Mechanism of the Mother-Infant Bond: A Potential Neural Foundation for the


• Enduring Pair Bond that Forms between Mates in Socially Monogamous Mammalian Species


• 6. The Potential Contribution of Maternal Neural Circuits to the Neural Basis of Human


• Hyper-Cooperation and Hyper-Prosociality


• 7. Conclusions

About the author

Michael Numan received his PhD from the University of Chicago. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS). His research focuses on the neural mechanisms of maternal behavior. He was a Professor of Psychology at Boston College (1975-2012), and he is currently a Research Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque.

Summary

The Parental Brain: Mechanisms, Development, and Evolution explores the neural circuits and development of the parental brain, and the view that these circuits formed a template for the evolution of other types of prosocial bonds. The book is unique in its multilevel approach and integration of animal and human research.

Product details

• Authors: Michael Numan, Michael (Research Professor Numan, Numan Michael
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.08.2020
• EAN: 9780190848675
• ISBN: 978-0-19-084867-5
• No. of pages: 516
• Dimensions: 165 mm x 240 mm x 40 mm
• Series: Print on Demand
• Subjects: Guides > Self-help, everyday life > Family; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Medicine; FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Parenting / General, Advice on parenting, Parenting: advice and issues