Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: The Parental Brain --- Parental Behavior: Descriptions, Terms, and Definitions --- Hormonal Control of Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals --- Brain Mechanisms Regulating Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals: Oxytocin and Olfaction --- Central Neural Circuits Regulating Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals --- Anxiety Reduction and Maternal Aggression in Postpartum Nonhuman Mammals --- Alloparental Behavior and Paternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals --- The Parental Brain in Humans --- Development of the Parental Brain in Nonhuman Mammals --- Development of the Parental Brain in Humans --- Evolutionary Perspectives on the Parental Brain

"The goal of The Parental Brain: Mechanisms, Development, and Evolution is to present a comprehensive, integrative, and multilevel analysis that examines how the brain regulates parental behavior in nonhuman animals and in humans, how these brain mechanisms develop, and how such development can go awry, leading to faulty parental behavior. Further, since maternal behavior is a defining characteristic of all mammals, the enduring mother-infant bond represents the most basic type of aid-giving social behavior. I will present evidence that the neural circuitry of the maternal brain has provided a foundation upon which natural selection could act in order to create other types of strong prosocial bonds in animals and humans when such enduring bonds have adaptive significance. A unique aspect of this book is the integration and comparison of animal and human research in order to create a complete understanding of the parental brain"-- Provided by publisher.