Brain switches turn men into good fathers

Turning bad fathers and mothers into standard parents is often the work of social activists, teachers or even dialogue - television education programs. However, Harvard University's (US) study may reveal another, simpler option.

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US scientists claim to have discovered a "switch" in the male mouse brain , which can turn distracted fathers into thoughtful, wonderful children.

According to Nature, the team led by Catherine Dulac, professor of cell and molecular biology at Harvard University, focused on a group of neurons in the mouse brain, which are related. to the interest of being a father . By lighting to activate certain brain cells, they were able to change the approach to the care and education of male children.

Researchers believe that in a man's brain there is also a "switch" that makes them the perfect father, similar to mice.(Photo: Corbis)

In the study, Dulac and colleagues investigated that mice with males often attacked the offspring of other individuals, but always stopped this aggressive behavior when their children were born, 3 weeks after delivery. Coordinate with a female. Experts have searched for neurons in the brain that may be responsible for this behavior change and focus on a region of pheromone sensing .

The smell of pheromones affects the behavior of other animals and is thought to be important during mating. Through the destruction of brain cells in the pheromone sensing region, the aggressive nature of male mating mice was found to be significantly reduced.

Instead of attacking pups, these male mice will nourish and even build their nests. In contrast, when the team destroyed neurons in the center of the female mouse's brain, these mother mice would become more aggressive.

Of course, there is a clear difference between the care and education of children and of mice. Most notably, in children, the way of raising and educating their children has many complex factors related to both cultural and social experiences. However, at a fundamental level, the researchers claim, their work provides some important insights into how the brain works, related to the role of father and mother.

"The fact that humans are mammals means that we certainly have specialized neurons like mice," Dulac said. Dulac added that, although the study focused only on male mice, it could easily be applied to female mice because male and female individuals have the same key brain circuit.