In monogamous species, father's care seems to have a key influence on the brain and behavior development of offspring.

Compared with this display of paternal love, mothers' parenting behavior has received more attention in the research field. According to Neuroscience News, among mammals including humans, 5% fathers still shoulder the heavy responsibility of taking care of their children.

Compared with maternal love, the parenting behavior of paternal love is less concerned in academic circles. In Pixabay, oxytocin, known as "phenyl ethylamine", makes a great contribution to this behavior. However, the father's motivation to take care of the young and the neuronal circuitous behind it were not so clear in the past.

The research team of the Key Laboratory of Brain and Behavior of Shaanxi Normal University in China recently published a new study in the Journal of Neuroscience. They found that the parenting behavior of male brown voles is related to the activities of "oxytocin neurons" in their hypothalamus and "dopamine neurons" in the brain reward area. This mechanism is the same as that of female brown vole.

The euphoria of dopamine is the brain's reward for "interaction". Before we get to the point, let's talk about brain rewards.

Robert C. Malenka, a researcher in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and others published their research in the journal Science on 20 17. At that time, they explored the influence of the brain on social interaction with mouse experiments and found that oxytocin (VTA) in the ventral tegmental area played a key role.

However, oxytocin itself cannot control the preference of mice, it is only the first key to open the interaction of mice. Oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) will be activated during social interaction in mice, and the oxytocin released by them will affect dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), resulting in a pleasant feeling, which will strengthen the behavior of mice approaching society.

Oxytocin is the key to mouse interaction, but dopamine can strengthen their motivation and show more social behavior. Graphic analysis of "father nerve" circuit of brown vole. According to the research results of Shaanxi Normal University, when male brown voles take care of their offspring, their brains follow the same path, that is, oxytocin neurons from PVN to VTA or nucleus accumbens (NAc) will be activated.

When oxytocin released by PVN is transmitted to VTA, if chemical gene activation occurs, it will promote parenting behavior. On the contrary, if chemical genetic suppression occurs in the loop from PVN to VTA, the release of dopamine in NAc of male brown voles will be reduced, and breastfeeding behaviors such as licking and combing their cubs' hair will also be reduced.

A little sorting out, the oxytocin released by PVN to VTA will make VTA produce dopamine and transmit it to NAc, which will increase the dopamine release of NAc, and the whole vein will be pushed one after another like dominoes, which will finally strengthen the love of vole father. ), so that they are willing to be close to their children.

Good feeling of relaxing trust-oxytocin seems to be a good thing, at least its secretion can make vole fathers pay more attention to their children. If this thing can be injected directly into the brain, it should set off a craze in the mother world and become an essential medicine to guide husbands to take care of their children.

What about humans? Can this mysterious substance also fill human hearts with pink bubbles?

First of all, oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. It is produced when oxytocin neurons in hypothalamus are activated and secreted into the blood through pituitary gland. Oxytocin, as we all know, plays an important role in promoting uterine muscle contraction in the process of female delivery, thus expanding the space of the cervix and * * * *.

However, in addition to physiological aspects, oxytocin will also affect people's social functions, such as social memory, attachment and sexual behavior, and even related to motherhood and aggression. In the past, researchers at the American Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that the trust and connection between people are also related to oxytocin, such as autism and dyskinesia. These diseases are likely to involve the abnormal expression of oxytocin.

In the past, Edwin S. Shneidman and others from the Institute of Psychology and Brain Science of Bar-Ilan University recruited 60 lovestruck couples and 43 single dog, trying to explore the differences in oxytocin secretion among these people. As a result, exhibitionists did not disappoint scientists, and their oxytocin activity was significantly higher than that of singles, and this situation lasted at least 6 months.

In other words, oxytocin is related to relaxation, comfort, empathy, trust and love. However, please remember that oxytocin does not directly affect our preferences. Love alone is not enough. The brain needs to give us enough motivation to love willingly.

According to research, the oxytocin activity of lovers in love is significantly higher than that of singles. Giffey makes you happy and excited-where does dopamine drive us to pursue these beautiful things? This has to mention that dopamine in the brain reward circuit affects people's behavioral motives.

Dopamine has always been called a "feel-good hormone". As the name implies, it is a substance that makes people feel happy and a reward from the brain.

Dr Tiffany M. Love from the institute of molecular and behavioral neuroscience of the university of Michigan once pointed out that oxytocin can affect dopamine activity in the midbrain dopamine system, which is not only the key to rewarding and motivating behavior, but also related to accessory behavior.

Some people may ask, what is the reward? We have to get back to the topic of "survival". The reward circuit of the brain is very important to us. It will give us some dopamine when we make the right behavior or judgment, so as to train us to learn everything that "helps to survive", including eating, drinking and * * *.

Of course, it also includes taking care of future generations.

What do you think is fatherly love? The father of the brown vole is in full bloom. It turns out that all his fatherly love is for his own selfish desires. This is really sad news. Suddenly my heart is a little tangled, so is this still love ><

Lack of oil, can only say that troubles are caused by themselves. If we don't think about PVN, VTA, NAc or oxytocin and dopamine, maybe we will be happier than we are now.

After reading this article, dads collapsed and angered XDD· Giffey.