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This study examined whether neural processing of infant cry sounds changes across the transition to fatherhood (i.e., from the prenatal to postnatal period), and examined whether an interaction-based prenatal intervention modulated these changes. Furthermore, we explored whether postnatal activation in brain regions showing transition or intervention effects was associated with sensitive care and involvement. In a randomized controlled trial, 73 first-time expectant fathers were enrolled, of whom 59 had at least 1 available fMRI scan. Intervention and transition effects on cry processing were analyzed in the amygdala and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) using linear mixed effect models with all available data and with intent-to-treat analyses. Further, exploratory whole-brain analyses were performed. ROI analyses suggest that the transition to fatherhood is characterized by decreasing activation in response to cry vs control sounds in the amygdala but not SFG. Exploratory whole-brain analyses also show a decrease in activation over the transition to fatherhood in the sensorimotor cortex, superior lateral occipital cortex, hippocampus, and regions of the default mode network. In the putamen and insula, larger decreases were found in fathers with more adverse childhood caregiving experiences. In regions showing transitional changes, higher postnatal activation was associated with more concurrent parenting sensitivity. No effects of the intervention were found. The decrease in activation from the pre- to postnatal period may reflect fathers' habituation to cry sounds over repeated exposures. The positive association between postnatal neural activation and paternal sensitive care suggest that continued sensitivity to cry sounds may be conducive to parenting quality., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

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., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

New fathers may grow into their parental role through active involvement in childcare. Spending time in physical contact with the child may promote an adaptive transition to fatherhood. In this randomized controlled trial, we tested the effects of a baby carrier intervention on fathers' hormonal and neural functioning. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined whether infant carrying affects neural reactivity to infant crying in first-time fathers, taking into account the role of the hormone oxytocin as a mediating mechanism and fathers' own childhood experiences as a potential moderating factor. Sixty first-time fathers (infant age M = 11.18 weeks, SD = 2.08) were randomly assigned to a baby carrier intervention group (n = 32 fathers) or a control group (n = 28 fathers). Fathers in the intervention group were instructed to use a baby carrier for three weeks, whereas fathers in the control group were instructed to use a baby seat. Before and after the intervention salivary oxytocin was measured and neural reactivity to infant crying was assessed using fMRI. Results showed that the infant carrier intervention increased amygdala reactivity to infant crying compared to the infant seat users. This effect was most pronounced in fathers with experiences of childhood abuse. The carrier intervention did not affect fathers' oxytocin levels. Our findings indicate that spending time in physical contact with the infant may promote attention to and accurate perception of infant signals, in particular in fathers with more adverse childhood experiences. Soft baby carriers may, therefore, facilitate an adaptive transition to fatherhood., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

In fathers testosterone levels are suggested to decrease in the context of caregiving, but results seem inconsistent. In a meta-analysis including 50 study outcomes with N = 7,080 male participants we distinguished three domains of research, relating testosterone levels to parental status (Hedges' g = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.35; N = 4,150), parenting quality (Hedges' g = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.24; N = 2,164), and reactivity after exposure to child stimuli (Hedges' g = 0.19, 95% CI: -0.03 to 0.42; N = 766). The sets of study outcomes on reactivity and on parenting quality were both homogeneous. Parental status and (higher) parenting quality were related to lower levels of testosterone, but according to conventional criteria combined effect sizes were small. Moderators did not significantly modify combined effect sizes. Results suggest that publication bias might have inflated the meta-analytic results, and the large effects of pioneering but small and underpowered studies in the domains of males' parental status and parenting quality have not been consistently replicated. Large studies with sufficient statistical power to detect small testosterone effects and, in particular, the moderating effects of the interplay with other endocrine systems and with contextual determinants are required., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Altered processing of emotional faces due to childhood maltreatment has repeatedly been reported, and may be a key process underlying the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. The current study is the first to examine the role of neural reactivity to emotional and neutral faces in the transmission of maltreatment, using a multi-generational family design including 171 participants of 51 families of two generations with a large age range (8-69 years). The impact of experienced and perpetrated maltreatment (abuse and neglect) on face processing was examined in association with activation in the amygdala, hippocampus, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and insula in response to angry, fearful, happy and neutral faces. Results showed enhanced bilateral amygdala activation in response to fearful faces in older neglected individuals, whereas reduced amygdala activation was found in response to these faces in younger neglected individuals. Furthermore, while experienced abuse was associated with lower IFG activation in younger individuals, experience of neglect was associated with higher IFG activation in this age group, pointing to potentially differential effects of abuse and neglect and significant age effects. Perpetrated abusive and neglectful behavior were not related to neural activation in any of these regions. Hence, no indications for a role of neural reactivity to emotional faces in the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment were found., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Adverse childhood experiences have been shown to affect sensitivity to intranasal oxytocin administration, but the neural mechanisms underlying this altered sensitivity are unclear. The aim of the current study was to examine whether hippocampal abnormalities underlie the effects of adversity on the response to oxytocin administration. In a sample of healthy women (N = 54, age M = 19.63), we examined 1) the association between hippocampal volume and experiences of emotional maltreatment and 2) whether hippocampal volume reductions influence the effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on salivary oxytocin levels. There was no association between hippocampal volume and experiences of emotional maltreatment in the current study. However, we found that larger hippocampal volume was related to a stronger increase in salivary oxytocin level after intranasal oxytocin administration. The hippocampus may be a neural substrate underlying individual differences in sensitivity to oxytocin administration., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The neuropeptide oxytocin plays an important role in social behavior, parenting, and affectionate touch and there is some evidence that oxytocin release can be stimulated by massage or affectionate touch. We examined the effects of massage applied by a massage seat cover on salivary oxytocin levels in two exploratory studies using within-subject designs. In Study 1 massage effects on oxytocin levels were examined in a sample of N=20 healthy female participants. Effects of a 15-min massage session were compared to a control condition during which participants sat on a comfortable chair without a massage seat cover. Salivary oxytocin levels were measured at baseline and up to three hours after the session. We found that massage attenuated oxytocin decreases over time, indicating that massage stimulates oxytocin release. In Study 2, we examined whether effects of massage in N=46 healthy male participants depend on experiences of emotional maltreatment. In addition, we examined whether enhanced oxytocin levels after massage affect the use of excessive handgrip force in response to infant crying and laughter as measured with a handgrip dynamometer. Our findings show that massage results in elevated oxytocin levels compared to a control condition, but that the effects of massage are dependent on experiences of emotional maltreatment. Men with experiences of emotional maltreatment showed lower oxytocin levels, which did not increase after massage. Furthermore, we found that high oxytocin levels after massage were related to reduced handgrip force during exposure to infant crying and laughter, indicating that massage stimulates a sensitive response to infant signals by stimulating oxytocin release. Although massage did not affect oxytocin levels in individuals with experiences of maltreatment, it reduced the use of handgrip force in response to infant crying and laughter in these individuals. Our findings indicate that emotional maltreatment is associated with atypical responding to stimulation of endogenous oxytocin release., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to examine associations of SES and ethnicity with hair cortisol and cortisone and to identify potential child and family characteristics that can assist in choosing covariates and potential confounders for analyses involving hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations. Hair samples were collected in 2484 6-year-old children from the Generation R Study, a prospective cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Measurements for cortisol and cortisone were used as the outcome in regression analyses. Predictors were SES, ethnicity, hair color and child characteristics such as birthweight, gestational age at birth, BMI, disease, allergy, and medication use. Lower family income, more children to be supported by this income, higher BMI and darker hair color were associated with higher hair cortisol and cortisone levels. Boys also showed higher levels. Ethnicity (Dutch and North European descent) was related to lower levels. High amounts of sun in the month of hair collection was related to higher levels of cortisone only. More recent hair washing was related to lower levels of cortisol and cortisone. Gestational age at birth, birth weight, age, medication use, hair washing frequency, educational level of the mother, marital status of the mother, disease and allergy were not associated with cortisol or cortisone levels. Our results serve as a starting point for choosing covariates and confounders in studies of substantive predictors or outcomes. Gender, BMI, income, the number of persons in a household, ethnicity, hair color and recency of hair washing are strongly suggested to take into account., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The neuropeptide oxytocin has been shown to stimulate prosocial behavior. However, recent studies indicate that adverse early caregiving experiences may moderate the positive effects of oxytocin. In this double blind randomized-controlled trial we investigated the effects of oxytocin on prosocial behavior during a virtual ball-tossing game called Cyberball. We examined the influence of oxytocin on prosocial helping behavior toward a socially excluded person who was known to the participant, taking into account early caregiving experiences and the emotional facial expression of the excluded person as potential moderators. Participants were 54 women who received a nasal spray containing either 16IU of oxytocin or a placebo and had reported how often their mother used love withdrawal as a disciplinary strategy involving withholding love and affection after a failure or misbehavior. We found that participants compensated for other players' ostracism by throwing the ball more often toward the excluded player. Oxytocin administration further increased the number of ball throws toward the excluded person, but only in individuals who experienced low levels of maternal love withdrawal. The facial expression of the excluded person did not affect prosocial helping behavior and did not moderate the effects of oxytocin. Our findings indicate that the positive effects of oxytocin on prosocial behavior toward a victim of social exclusion are limited to individuals with supportive family backgrounds., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The neuropeptide oxytocin has a popular reputation of being the 'love' hormone. Here we test meta-analytically whether experiments with intranasal administration of oxytocin provide support for the proposed effects of oxytocin. Three psychological effects were subjected to meta-analysis: facial emotion recognition (13 effect sizes, N=408), in-group trust (8 effect sizes, N=317), and out-group trust (10 effect sizes; N=505). We found that intranasal oxytocin administration enhances the recognition of facial expressions of emotions, and that it elevates the level of in-group trust. The hypothesis that out-group trust is significantly decreased in the oxytocin condition was not supported. It is concluded that a sniff of oxytocin can change emotion perception and behavior in trusting relationships., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recent correlational studies showed that oxytocin is associated with parenting style in humans as in other mammals. Here the first double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject experiment with intranasal oxytocin administration is presented. Subjects were 17 fathers with their toddler, observed in two play sessions of 15 min each with an intervening period of 1 week. In the oxytocin condition fathers were more stimulating of their child's exploration than in the placebo condition, and they tended to show less hostility. Parent training experiments might be combined with intranasal oxytocin administration to test differential and cumulative effects of traditional, interaction-focused versus pharmaceutical treatments., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Quality of the parent-infant attachment relationship influences physiological stress regulation. Genetic factors also contribute to the stress regulatory HPA-axis. Quality of attachment as an index of the rearing environment (measured with the Strange Situation Procedure, SSP), and HPA-axis related SNPs (BclI, rs41423247; TthIIII, rs10052957; GR-9β, rs6198; N363S, rs6195; ER22/23EK, rs6189 and 6190; and FKBP5, rs1360780) were hypothesized to be related to cortisol reactivity in the stressful SSP. In this large population based sample, FKBP5 rs1360780, but not GR haplotype, was related to cortisol reactivity. Moreover, we found a significant interaction effect for insecure-resistant attachment and FKBP5 rs1360780, indicating a double-risk for heightened cortisol reactivity levels in infants with one or two T-alleles of the FKBP5 SNP and an insecure-resistant attachment relationship with their mother. Findings are discussed from the perspective of gene-environment interaction., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)