Papers by C. Cohen-bendahan
Infant behavior & development, Jan 17, 2015
Caregiving interest in men (N=46) during the third trimester of their partner's pregnancy was... more Caregiving interest in men (N=46) during the third trimester of their partner's pregnancy was examined. The study included both explicit and implicit measures of caregiving interest, assessments of basal urinary concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin, and exogenous (intranasal) application of these hormones. Compared to control men (N=20), fathers-to-be reported more interest in direct care for children. In an immersive virtual environment, fathers-to-be, in comparison to control men, stood closer to and tended to spend more time looking at the baby-related avatars, and stood further away and tended to spend less time looking at non-baby-related avatars. Basal oxytocin and vasopressin were not related to caregiving interest in fathers-to-be, and were not different from control men. When vasopressin was administered, fathers-to-be invested more time watching the baby-related avatars compared to control men. No effects were found of exogenous oxytocin on the behavior of father...
Prenatal exposure to testosterone and functional cerebral lateralization: a study in same-sex and opposite-sex twin girls
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2004
In animals it has been shown that exposure to sex hormones is influenced by intrauterine position... more In animals it has been shown that exposure to sex hormones is influenced by intrauterine position. Thus fetuses located between two male fetuses are exposed to higher levels of testosterone (T) than fetuses situated between two female fetuses or one female and one male fetus. In a group of opposite-sex (OS) twin girls and same-sex (SS) twin girls a potential effect of prenatal exposure to testosterone (T) on functional cerebral lateralization was investigated. We hypothesized that prenatal exposure to T would result in a more masculine, i.e. a more lateralized pattern of cerebral lateralization in OS twin girls than in SS twin girls. An auditory-verbal dichotic listening task (DLT) was used as an indirect method to study hemispheric specialization. Firstly, we established a sex difference on the DLT. Compared with SS girls, OS twin boys showed a more lateralized pattern of processing verbal stimuli. Secondly, as predicted OS girls had a more masculine pattern of cerebral lateralization, than SS girls. These findings support the notion of an influence of prenatal T on early brain organization in girls.
Prenatal sex hormone effects on child and adult sex-typed behavior: methods and findings
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2005
There is now good evidence that human sex-typed behavior is influenced by sex hormones that are p... more There is now good evidence that human sex-typed behavior is influenced by sex hormones that are present during prenatal development, confirming studies in other mammalian species. Most of the evidence comes from clinical populations, in which prenatal hormone exposure is atypical for a person's sex, but there is increasing evidence from the normal population for the importance of prenatal hormones. In this paper, we briefly review the evidence, focusing attention on the methods used to study behavioral effects of prenatal hormones. We discuss the promises and pitfalls of various types of studies, including those using clinical populations (concentrating on those most commonly studied, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, androgen insensitivity syndrome, ablatio penis, and cloacal exstrophy), direct measures of hormones in the general population (assayed through umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid, and maternal serum during pregnancy), and indirect measures of hormones in the general population (inferred from intrauterine position and biomarkers such as otoacoustic emissions, finger length ratios, and dermatoglyphic asymmetries). We conclude with suggestions for interpreting and conducting studies of the behavioral effects of prenatal hormones.
Hormones and Behavior, 2005
Men and women differ in temperament and personality traits, such as aggression and sensation seek... more Men and women differ in temperament and personality traits, such as aggression and sensation seeking. The sex hormone testosterone could play a role in the origin of these differences, but it remains unclear how and when testosterone could have these effects. One way to investigate the prenatal exposure effect of testosterone is to compare opposite-sex (OS) and same-sex (SS) female twins. It has been suggested that OS twin girls are exposed prenatally to elevated testosterone levels and that this may result in some masculinization of their personality and behavior. We measured sexually dimorphic traits and circulating testosterone levels in 13-year-old OS (n = 74) and SS (n = 55) twins.
Infant Behavior and Development, 2014
An infant's optimal development is determined to a great extent by the adequate and sensitive res... more An infant's optimal development is determined to a great extent by the adequate and sensitive responses of the caregiver. The adequacy and sensitivity of a reaction to an infant in distress (i.e. crying) will partly depend on the causal attributions of the crying and on the individual's sympathy for the infant. Being female, prior caring experiences, and multiparity have shown to be linked to more sympathetic, tolerant and less hostile emotional responses to crying. However, little is known about other factors explaining inexperienced future caregivers' reactions to infant crying. The present paper's goal is to shed more light on the subject by looking at how personality factors, caregiving interest, sex, promptness of the reaction, and gender identity are related to emotional reactions and causal attributions to crying in a population of young adults without children.
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Papers by C. Cohen-bendahan