Work

Plasticity of the parental brain

Year: 2025

Type: review

Abstract: Parental behavior, like other instinctive behaviors, must strike a delicate balance between robustness and flexibility to ensure offspring survival in dynamic environments. While core features of parenting are genetically programmed, they can be modulated by the hormonal changes accompanying pregnancy and parturition, as well as by social experience. How such behavioral flexibility arises from plasticity within the underlying neural circuits is a topic of intense investigation. In this review, we summarize recent advances in understanding the multi-level plasticity of the parental brain in both males and females. We highlight emerging principles of hormone- and experience-driven circuit remodeling and discuss key challenges and opportunities for future research in this rapidly evolving field. • Parental behavior is robust yet flexibly adapts to changing conditions. • Pregnancy induces widespread, region-specific brain volume changes. • Mouse models reveal cellular and circuit mechanism of parental plasticity. • Hormonal changes and social experience both enhance parental performance.

Source: Current Opinion in Neurobiology

DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2025.103129

Authors: Basma Fatima Anwar Husain, Johannes Kohl

Institution: The Francis Crick Institute

Language: English

Topic: Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,320