Hormonal changes in mammalian fathers

Abstract

Known and hypothesized relationships between steroid (estradiol, testosterone, and cortisol) and peptide (oxytocin, vasopressin, and prolactin) hormones and the expression of mammalian paternal behavior are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on newly emerging animal models, including nonhuman primates and men, with elaborate paternal behavior repertoires. Currently available data are broadly consistent with a working hypothesis that the expression of parental behavior will involve homologous neuroendocrine circuits in male and females. Understanding the neuroendocrinology of paternal behavior is an emerging research opportunity in behavioral neuroscience.