Behavioral endocrinology of mammalian fatherhood

Mammalian fatherhood involves a muted version of the maternal experience. I n spite of previous assumptions to the contrary, hormones influence mammali an paternal behavior. Naturally paternal males experience dynamic changes i n the same hormones involved in maternal behavior and these hormones have a ccess to the same brain pathways. Men becoming fathers for the first time a re similar to their female partners too. These recent studies are still cor relational, but promise to illuminate maternal behavior and to biologically validate the experiences of involved fathers.