Health, Longevity & Biohacking
Researcher says fathers’ grey matter shrinks, but may boost social efficiency
Diary of a CEO
DADS LOSE 1% OF THEIR BRAIN AFTER THIS?
"Yeah, and my lab found that relationship. So, when dads told us before birth that they felt more bonded to their unborn baby, when they wanted to take more time off, and when they told us 3 months after birth that they enjoyed their babies more, they felt more connected and bonded to them, and they were spending more time taking care of their babies, they had more profound brain shrinkage."
A research guest on The Diary Of A CEO says brain scans show fathers lose grey matter volume after becoming parents, with the strongest reductions in regions linked to “mentalising” (processing others’ feelings and intentions) and in visual areas used to read an infant’s facial cues. The guest argues the volume loss is not a loss of empathy but a sign of the brain becoming more efficient, and says their lab found that more hands-on and bonded fathers showed more pronounced shrinkage.
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Diary of a CEO