Darby Saxbe

Our paper is finally out @darbysaxbe.bsky.social @genesisflores.bsky.social! Expectant fathers raised in riskier environments show lower white matter integrity in limbic regions and less effective parenting, even controlling for depressive symptoms. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The Science of Social Relationships RCGD fall 2025 SEMINAR SERIES ISR Thompson 1430 | Mondays 3:30 to 5 Darby Saxbe | 09.29.25 The Transition to Fatherhood as a Window for Neural, Hormonal, and Psychological Remodeling

The RCGD series on the Science of Social Relationships continues Monday with a talk from @darbysaxbe.bsky.social on the transition to fatherhood. The talk will review studies on hormone and brain changes across the transition to parenthood in first-time human fathers. buff.ly/92KtRNS

Terrible parents of yore How intensive parenting became an aspirational status symbol

New essay today about how parents of the olden days were actually TERRIBLE, the phenomenon of "baby farming," and why intensive parenting is a modern invention. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/the-bad-pa...

Super cool. I'm curious if the salience network changes track with perceived hunger or cravings, or with eating behaviors.

So I'm trying to interpret - would you say that salience network connectivity gets more diffuse and perhaps signals better top down regulation of interoceptive signals??

!!!!!

Cool! What is the intervention?

Really important and sobering analysis

The party of “viewpoint diversity” and “campus free speech” is back at it

Our new study in Emotion!

Parents report higher satisfaction yet lower daily happiness- the 'parenting paradox'. So in the transition to parenthood, how do we study well-being? We studied how new fathers adapt by examining meaning/purpose and brain connectivity.
psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...

Screenshot from Fox News that says CDC official includes 'pregnant people' terminology and pronouns in resignation letter Daskalakis accused President Trump's administration of attempting 'to erase transgender populations' By Alex Nitzberg • Fox News Published August 28, 2025 1:47pm EDT

I often talk about the fact that MAGA does not access the same news as the left wing. I present to you Exhibit A.

Dr. Daskalakis’ resignation letter excoriated RFK Jr. and shared that RFK Jr. was lying to the public, manipulating data, and ordering unethical actions.

This what Fox News served.

“Dad brain” is real - Early Childhood Matters Parenting changes men’s bodies and brains in profound ways, impacting everything from their brain structure to hormones to their mental health and sense of identity. We call this period of rapid adjus...

🧠 Thanks to research from @darbysaxbe.bsky.social we know fatherhood transforms men’s brains in profound ways, and many dads face postpartum depression, sleep challenges and stigma.

🔗 Read more about how we can support new fathers in #ECM2025: earlychildhoodmatters.online/2025/dad-bra...

Thank you!

Reps and Dems are living in different societies...
Report linked in comments.

Thank you for reading!

Thank you!!

This is a wild ride of a read for all kinds of reasons. Researchers and people who read about research on the internet should all find some valuable stuff in here. The incidental note that THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF OBJECTS ON A TYPICAL FRIDGE IS 55 is just the icing on the cake for me.

Thank you so much for reading! And so glad you appreciated the fridge magnet data, too

I met my AI doppelganger and it got weird How my clutter cortisol study took on a life of its own

This week I wrote about how my research on stress, cortisol, and clutter got misinterpreted by the media and ended up in the AI slop factory. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/cogsplaine...

Single Fathers Are a Growing, But Often Invisible, Demographic | KQED We look at the experience of single fatherhood and hear from you: are you a single dad or were you raised by one? What's your story?

🎙️ON AIR:

@faith-hill.bsky.social, Fatherhood and Adolescent Services' Ignacio Ferrey, @menhavingbabies.bsky.social's Ron Poole-Dayan, @darbysaxbe.bsky.social and therapist Ken Epstein on single fatherhood.

❓ Are you a single dad or were you raised by one? What's your story?

📻 Listen:

The Growing Cohort of Single Dads by Choice For some men, fatherhood is an answer to questions about modern masculinity.

TUE at 9AM:

@faith-hill.bsky.social, Fatherhood and Adolescent Services' Ignacio Ferrey, @menhavingbabies.bsky.social's Ron Poole-Dayan, @darbysaxbe.bsky.social and therapist Ken Epstein on the experience of single fatherhood.

❓ Are you a single dad or were you raised by one? What's your story?

Yes I totally agree re: the lived experience of fathers! And I understand the quibble with the headline for sure.

Yes it's actually good that we have fMRI to know this, because men's parental bond has been understudied & essentialist narratives continue to insist that only women have "maternal instinct." Showing how the male brain responds to infant stimuli helps us appreciate human adaptations to fatherhood!

Thank you for spotlighting our lab's new study, led by the indefatigable @philnewsomejr.bsky.social !

👀 New "dad brain" research from @darbysaxbe.bsky.social; Darby Saxbe will join RCGD's fall seminar series on the science of social relationships-- with a talk on the transition to fatherhood 9/29. Check out the series that kicks off next week! rcgd.isr.umich.edu/news-events/...

Fresh off the presses brand-new DAD BRAIN research from our lab!

Are we mad at feminism or are we mad at capitalism? Towards a fifth wave of feminism that celebrates care and connection

I have a new essay up about how we frequently blame feminism for all the drawbacks of late-stage capitalism. I also started doing indie rock recommendations. Smash that subscribe button!
darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/are-we-mad...

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what the what!

This is one of the biggest reasons why I research fatherhood and the fathering brain. In a time of rising isolation and hopelessness, becoming a hands-on parent offers men a route towards greater meaning, purpose, and social connection.