The expectant brain-pregnancy leads to changes in brain morphology in the early postpartum period.
gray matter volume
maternal brain
postpartum period
pregnancy
Journal
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
ISSN: 1460-2199
Titre abrégé: Cereb Cortex
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 9110718
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
04 09 2022
04 09 2022
Historique:
received:
19
07
2021
revised:
12
10
2021
accepted:
15
11
2021
pubmed:
24
12
2021
medline:
20
9
2022
entrez:
23
12
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
There is growing evidence that pregnancy may have a significant impact on the maternal brain, causing changes in its structure. To investigate the patterns of these changes, we compared nulliparous women (n = 40) with a group of primiparous women (n = 40) and multiparous mothers (n = 37) within 1-4 days postpartum, using voxel-based and surface-based morphometry (SBM). Compared with the nulliparous women, the young mothers showed decreases in gray matter volume in the bilateral hippocampus/amygdala, the orbitofrontal/subgenual prefrontal area, the right superior temporal gyrus and insula, and the cerebellum. These pregnancy-related changes in brain structure did not predict the quality of mother-infant attachment at either 3 or 12 weeks postpartum nor were they more pronounced among the multiparous women. SBM analyses showed significant cortical thinning especially in the frontal and parietal cortices, with the parietal cortical thinning likely potentiated by multiple pregnancies. We conclude that, compared with the brain of nulliparous women, the maternal brain shows widespread morphological changes shortly after childbirth. Also, the experience of pregnancy alone may not be the underlying cause of the adaptations for mothering. As regards the exact biological function of the changes in brain morphology, longitudinal research will be needed to draw any definitive conclusions.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34942007
pii: 6481922
doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhab463
pmc: PMC9476604
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
4025-4038Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press.
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