Overview
- Published in Nature, the work tracked neural activity in male African striped mice and found higher firing in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) during caregiving, with lower activity seen during hostile responses.
- More nurturing males showed lower brain levels of the Agouti gene, whereas elevated Agouti was associated with reduced care and dampened MPOA activity.
- Raising Agouti via gene therapy caused previously caring males to lose interest in pups, with some becoming aggressive on re-exposure.
- Switching males from communal to solitary housing lowered Agouti expression and increased paternal interest, indicating environmental control over the pathway.
- The authors caution that MPOA and Agouti exist in humans but relevance to human parenting is unproven, and they warn against medicalizing a complex behavior.