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Parental caregiving includes a set of highly conserved behaviors and mental states that may reflect both an individual’s genetic endowment and the early experience of being cared for as a child. This review first examines the mental and behavioral elements of early parental caregiving in humans. Second, we consider what is known about the neurobiological substrates of maternal behaviors in mammalian species including some limited human data. Third, we briefly review the evidence that specific genes encode proteins that are crucial for the development of the neural substrates that underlie specific features of maternal behavior. Fourth, we review the emerging literature on the “programming” role of the intrauterine environment and postnatal caregiving environment in shaping subsequent maternal behavior. We conclude that there are critical developmental windows during which the genetically …