A new study out of the University of Calgary is suggesting that two parents may be better than one when it comes to learning and memory in their children.
A team of researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute have new data that shows that adult brain cell production might be determined by the early parental environment and suggests that dual parenting may be more beneficial than single parenting.
“We discovered that the adult brain has a constant production of new cells which was not thought to exist,” said Dr. Sam Weiss, Professor and Director of HBI. “In a recent study, that’s just being published, we found that new cells produced in the adult brain are determined very early in development and it’s very interesting because that brain cell production is both in the grey matter and the white matter.”
The researchers used mouse pups for the study that were raised by either dual or single parents and found that adult cell production in the brain might be triggered by early life experiences.
The scientists also found that increased adult brain cell production varied by gender:
- Female pups raised by two parents had enhanced white matter production as adults, increasing motor coordination and sociability.
- Male pups raised by dual parents displayed more grey matter production as an adult, which improves learning and memory.
The scientists divided mice into three groups:
- Pups raised to adulthood by one female
- Pups raised to adulthood by one female and one male
- Pups raised to adulthood by two females.
They then waited for the offspring to reach adulthood to find out if there was any impact on brain cell production.
The study also revealed that the advantages of dual parenting were also passed along to the next generation, even if their offspring were raised by one female.
The researchers say the data provides evidence that parenting and the environment directly impact adult brain cell production in the mice model and that it is possible similar effects could be seen in other mammals, such as humans.
The study is published in the May 1 edition of PLOS ONE.
