Human Hormones

A “father brain”?

Many fathers remember vividly the moment their child arrived into the world. The cry, the warmth, and the release of all of that stress and worry that accompanies their partner’s pregnancy make fatherhood a very stressful and intense period in a man’s life. This has always been the case.

For a very long time men have been seen to take a bit of a backseat when it came to family life. They were the creators, the carriers of sperm, the stuff that made families, but the actual creation of the new life was largely left to the woman.

Even when the baby arrived, gender roles were less than sympathetic to the woman. Women have for centuries been expected to take the lead when it comes to looking after young children. The amount of women who take more than six months for maternity leave is growing every year. The number of women who go back to work on a part-time basis after maternity leave is growing too. Basically, the woman does the childcare bit (traditionally speaking) and the man does the bread-winning, and the procreation aspect.

Even today this has not changed to a great degree. However, with many women facing more time at home due to the worldwide recession, and with women needing to take up the work reins to bring in more cash to the starved family coffers, a new piece of research has arrived that affords men a much larger role in the care of their young.

Recent research has shown that getting involved at an early stage in the care of a child makes father’s into even better fathers. In fact, research has shown that the hormones in the male body are directly affected by the act of becoming involved in childbirth and the care of a young infant in the weeks and months afterwards.

It has actually been found that if a man is in direct contact with a baby and the mother, then the testosterone levels in his body drop dramatically. Testosterone is the growth hormone associated with males, and it regulates a lot of the growth processes that take place in men. The incidence of male pattern baldness, for example, is linked to the presence or otherwise of testosterone.

Also, testosterone is directly linked to the male reproductive system. A lack of it affects other parts of the male ‘system’ too.

There is also a marked increase in the amount of cortisol that is present in the male, when he is around the mother and her child. Cortisol is linked directly to stress. It is spiked in the mother after childbirth because the stress that is released is there to help the mother look after her child. The fact that it is also spiked in the father suggests that childbirth does something to men too.

So the research shows that the male brain is changed by childbirth. This means that there is now a male father brain that is present when the baby is brought into the world.

Testosterone is a hormone found in the human body. It is secreted from the interstitial tissue of the testes in males, from the theca cells of the ovaries in females, and from the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex in both sexes. Testosterone is classified as an androgen sex steroid hormone.
Secretion and Production

Insulin is produced in and secreted from the interstitial tissue of the testes in males, the theca cells of the ovaries in females, and the adrenal glands in both sexes. However, in females, it’s secreted in much smaller amounts than in males. It is derived from cholesterol.

General effects of testosterone secretion in both sexes are promotion of protein synthesis, promotion of growth in tissues with androgen receptors, growth of muscle mass and strength, increased bone density and strength, and stimulation of linear growth and bone maturization. Additionally, in both sexes, testosterone plays a key role in health and well-being by enhancing libido, energy, and immune function, and by protecting against osteoporosis.

More specific effects can be classified by age. Prenatal testosterone effects occur between 7 and 12 weeks of gestation. They are genital virilization and the development of prostate and seminal vesicles. In early pubescent children of both sexes, testosterone secretion causes adult-type body odor, increased oiliness of the skin and hair, appearance of pubic hair, growth, accelerated bone maturization, and, in males, fine upper lip and sideburn hair.

In late pubescent males, testosterone causes phallic enlargement, increased libido and erection frequency, increased growth of pubic hair, growth of facial, chest, periareolar, and perianal hair, increased aggressiveness, decrease in fat, increased muscle mass and strength, deepening of voice, growth of the Adam’s apple, fertility and growth of spermatogenic tissue in testes, growth of jaw, brow, chin, and nose, widening of shoulders, expansion of rib cage, and the completion of bone maturization and growth.

After puberty and through adulthood, the effects of testosterone in both males and females are to maintain muscle mass and strength, maintain bone density and strength, provide mental and physical energy, and, in males, provide libido and erection frequency.
Pharmacological Uses

Synthetic testosterone is available in many forms, including injectable, oral, buccal, transdermal skin patches, and transdermal creams or gels. Primarily, synthetic testosterone is used to treat males with testosterone deficiency. However, it is also commonly used medically to treat infertility, lack of libido, erectile dysfunction, osteoporosis, and anemia. Additionally, it is often prescribed to promote growth, penile enlargement, and appetite stimulation.

One recent common form of use of synthetic testosterone is as a drug for female-to-male transsexuals. In women, if amounts of testosterone in the body are equal to those of men, then it has the same effects as those that occur in pubescent boys. Therefore, it is commonly prescribed to these transsexuals to promote male characteristics.

Non-medically, synthetic testosterone is commonly used as a physical and performance enhancing drug by athletes. Testosterone, an anabolic steroid, enhances muscle development, strength, and endurance. However, its use is illegal in most sports.