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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Men experience a drop in testosterone after the birth of their children, a phenomenon that may help them meet the challenges of caring for their offspring, said a study released on Monday.
Testosterone is a hormone that fuels male sexuality, aggression and physical robustness, and is typically highest in young, single men with no children, said the research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
With less testosterone coursing through their veins, men are more likely to adopt fatherly roles and help nurture their children, a particular need among humans who have much longer dependent childhoods than other mammals.
'Raising human offspring is such an effort that it is cooperative by necessity, and our study shows that human fathers are biologically wired to help with the job,' said co-author Christopher Kuzawa of Northwestern University in Illinois.
Testosterone is a hormone that fuels male sexuality, aggression and physical robustness, and is typically highest in young, single men with no children, said the research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
With less testosterone coursing through their veins, men are more likely to adopt fatherly roles and help nurture their children, a particular need among humans who have much longer dependent childhoods than other mammals.
'Raising human offspring is such an effort that it is cooperative by necessity, and our study shows that human fathers are biologically wired to help with the job,' said co-author Christopher Kuzawa of Northwestern University in Illinois.
