SAN DIEGO — Neuroscientific research shows that parenthood transforms not only the lives and behaviors of parents, but also their brains. These findings will be presented at Neuroscience 2025, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
Approximately 140 million women give birth each year, according to the World Health Organization. Human and animal studies demonstrate that the transition to parenthood involves hormonal shifts and neural adaptations that can change the structure and function of a person’s brain. Importantly, mothers and fathers alike experience neurobiological changes that support caregiving. Neuroscientific studies of how parenthood changes the brain are yielding insights that can inform clinical practice, perinatal care and policies supporting parental well-being and child development.
Today’s new findings show that:
“There are few things as universal as having parents,” says Bianca Jones Marlin, PhD , assistant professor at the Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University and moderator of the press conference. “These studies explore different aspects of parenting, but they all demonstrate that our biology as mammals sets us up well to care for offspring.”
For complete access to Neuroscience 2025 in-person and online, request media credentials . This research was supported by national funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health and private funding organizations.
Sunday, November 16, 2025
11 a.m.–noon PST
San Diego Convention Center, Room 15A, and online for registered media
Parenting Press Conference Summary
Mouse midwives: behavioral mechanisms that greatly improve maternal-infant survival during difficult parturition
Robert Froemke, robert.froemke@med.nyu.edu , Abstract PSTR398.01
Unraveling changes in the brain’s connectome during the transition to motherhood
Camila Servin-Barthet, Camille.Servin@uab.cat , Abstract PSTR030.19
Experience-dependent Trpc5 expression in MPOA Esr1 neurons governs parental behavior in male mice
Yongxiang Li, Yongxiangli@usf.edu , Abstract PSTR398.27
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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 30,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system