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Stronger Mentalizing Network Connectivity in Expectant Fathers Predicts Postpartum Father-Infant Attachment and Parenting Behavior

Thu, April 8, 1:10 to 2:40pm EDT (1:10 to 2:40pm EDT), Virtual

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Fathers are critical to children’s health and development. The children of involved fathers show enhanced well-being in multiple domains, including physical health, peer relationships, academic achievements, psychological resilience, and long-term socioeconomic outcomes (Feldman, 2003; Howard et al., 2006). Importantly, fathers make unique contributions to their children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development, over and above the effects of mothers’ involvement and family financial resources (N. Cabrera et al., 2006; N. J. Cabrera et al., 2007; Shannon et al., 2002). However, research has shed little light on what factors underlie successful fathering and, particularly on how fathers’ neurobiology supports more (or less) effective parenting behaviors. Stronger empathy and mentalizing may characterize more effective fathering (Davidov & Grusec, 2006; Maccoby & Martin, 1983; Steinberg, 2001). These abilities are fundamental to good social functioning and essential in the establishment of close social relationships (Davidov & Grusec, 2006; Steinberg, 2001). The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) represents an area of high interest in examining dimensions of social behavior, including parenting. The mPFC is a key structure in the control of social behavior and in supporting related abilities, including reality monitoring and emotion regulation (Amodio & Frith, 2006). Neural connectivity with the mPFC has been linked to humans’ ability to empathize and understand others—traits essential to supportive and successful parenting (Davidov & Grusec, 2006; Maccoby & Martin, 1983; Steinberg, 2001). The current study is the first to examine expectant fathers’ resting state neural connectivity as a predictor of individual differences in empathy, parenting, and father-child attachment.

METHODS: We used a seed-region-based approach to assess the resting-state FC (rsFC) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of 40 expectant fathers. Participants were first-time fathers (ages 23-41, M = 31.63) who were cohabitating with their partners and expecting single babies at recruitment. Functional connectivity was assessed during a 7-minute resting-state fMRI sequence during the prenatal MRI visit. We then tested associations between mPFC whole-brain rsFC and the fathers’ self-report measures of empathy during pregnancy, as well as their ratings of paternal attachment, and parenting behaviors at six months postpartum.

RESULTS: Stronger prenatal rsFC between the mPFC and precuneus, frontal pole, planum polare, and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) was negatively associated with self-reported empathic concern and perspective-taking, whereas mPFC rsFC with the lateral occipital cortex (LOC) was positively associated with self-reported perspective-taking. Additionally, stronger prenatal connectivity between the mPFC rsFC and the superior parietal lobule and LOC regions predicted postpartum attachment, and stronger prenatal mPFC rsFC with the LOC predicted more effective postpartum parenting.

DISCUSSION: This study found that patterns of resting state connectivity in expectant fathers were cross-sectionally associated with self-reported trait empathy and predictive of parenting outcomes postpartum. Increased prenatal rsFC between mPFC and areas associated with socioemotional functioning (i.e., precuneus, LOC) predicted stronger father-infant attachment and more effective parenting behaviors at six months postpartum. By utilizing rsFC to examine how fathers’ prenatal empathy and patterns of neural connectivity are associated with parenting and father-child attachment, this project represents a valuable first step in investigating the neural phenomena underlying fathers’ parenting.

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