Frontotemporal bursting supports human working memory.

Cortical neural activity varies dynamically during memory periods, when relevant information is not present in the environment. But how those dynamics are related to a code defining working memory (WM) performance is not known. Recent data shows brief bursts of activity in the high gamma (70-140 Hz) and beta (12-30 Hz) band within non-human primate lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is associated with WM processing.

Preliminary evidence that androgen signaling is correlated with men's everyday language.

Objectives: Testosterone (T) has an integral, albeit complex, relationship with social behavior, especially in the domains of aggression and competition. However, examining this relationship in humans is challenging given the often covert and subtle nature of human aggression and status-seeking. The present study aimed to investigate whether T levels and genetic polymorphisms in the AR gene are associated with social behavior assessed via natural language use.

Child gender influences paternal behavior, language, and brain function.

Multiple lines of research indicate that fathers often treat boys and girls differently in ways that impact child outcomes. The complex picture that has emerged, however, is obscured by methodological challenges inherent to the study of parental caregiving, and no studies to date have examined the possibility that gender differences in observed real-world paternal behavior are related to differential paternal brain responses to male and female children. Here we compare fathers of daughters and fathers of sons in terms of naturalistically observed everyday caregiving behavior and neural responses to child picture stimuli.

Effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on the neural response to unreciprocated cooperation within brain regions involved in stress and anxiety in men and women.

Anxiety disorders are characterized by hyperactivity in both the amygdala and the anterior insula. Interventions that normalize activity in these areas may therefore be effective in treating anxiety disorders. Recently, there has been significant interest in the potential use of oxytocin (OT), as well as vasopressin (AVP) antagonists, as treatments for anxiety disorders.

Oxytocin and vasopressin effects on the neural response to social cooperation are modulated by sex in humans.

Recent research has examined the effects of oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) on human social behavior and brain function. However, most participants have been male, while previous research in our lab demonstrated sexually differentiated effects of OT and AVP on the neural response to reciprocated cooperation. Here we extend our previous work by significantly increasing the number of participants to enable the use of more stringent statistical thresholds that permit more precise localization of OT and AVP effects in the brain.

Differential neural responses to child and sexual stimuli in human fathers and non-fathers and their hormonal correlates.

Despite the well-documented importance of paternal caregiving for positive child development, little is known about the neural changes that accompany the transition to fatherhood in humans, or about how changes in hormone levels affect paternal brain function. We compared fathers of children aged 1-2 with non-fathers in terms of hormone levels (oxytocin and testosterone), neural responses to child picture stimuli, and neural responses to visual sexual stimuli. Compared to non-fathers, fathers had significantly higher levels of plasma oxytocin and lower levels of plasma testosterone.

Behavioral and genetic correlates of the neural response to infant crying among human fathers.

Although evolution has shaped human infant crying and the corresponding response from caregivers, there is marked variation in paternal involvement and caretaking behavior, highlighting the importance of understanding the neurobiology supporting optimal paternal responses to cries. We explored the neural response to infant cries in fathers of children aged 1-2, and its relationship with hormone levels, variation in the androgen receptor (AR) gene, parental attitudes and parental behavior. Although number of AR CAG trinucleotide repeats was positively correlated with neural activity in brain regions important for empathy (anterior insula and inferior frontal gyrus), restrictive attitudes were inversely correlated with neural activity in these regions and with regions involved with emotion regulation (orbitofrontal cortex).

Sex differences in the neural and behavioral response to intranasal oxytocin and vasopressin during human social interaction.

Both oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) are known to modulate social behavior, and dysfunction in both systems has been postulated as a potential cause of certain psychiatric disorders that involve social behavioral deficits. In particular, there is growing interest in intranasal OT as a potential treatment for certain psychiatric disorders, and preliminary pre-clinical and clinical studies suggest efficacy in alleviating some of the associated symptoms. However, the vast majority of research participants in these studies have been male, and there is evidence for sexually differentiated effects of nonapeptides in both humans and non-human animals.

Testicular volume is inversely correlated with nurturing-related brain activity in human fathers.

Despite the well-documented benefits afforded the children of invested fathers in modern Western societies, some fathers choose not to invest in their children. Why do some men make this choice? Life History Theory offers an explanation for variation in parental investment by positing a trade-off between mating and parenting effort, which may explain some of the observed variance in human fathers' parenting behavior. We tested this hypothesis by measuring aspects of reproductive biology related to mating effort, as well as paternal nurturing behavior and the brain activity related to it.

Effects of intranasal oxytocin and vasopressin on cooperative behavior and associated brain activity in men.

The neural mechanisms supporting social bonds between adult men remain uncertain. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we investigate the impact of intranasally administered oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) on behavior and brain activity among men in the context of an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game, which models a real-life social situation. fMRI results show that, relative to both AVP and placebo, OT increases the caudate nucleus response to reciprocated cooperation, which may augment the reward of reciprocated cooperation and/or facilitate learning that another person can be trusted.