iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Pregnancy may result in long-lasting changes in a woman’s brain, according to a new study of a small group of subjects published on Monday by the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Researchers examined the brains of 25 first-time mothers before and after their pregnancy and found that following a pregnancy there was a decrease in gray matter in specific regions of the brain that are associated with functions such as integrating sensory information and abstract thinking. The researchers followed up with 11 of the mothers two years after they gave birth and still observed these changes in their brains.
The changes to new mothers’ brains were so common that the scientists were able to recognize which participants recently gave birth around 85 percent of the time by just looking at their brain scans.
“They actually found changes in parts of the structure and size of the brain. The theory here is that those changes occurred to help streamline the moms’ brains to prepare for more nurturing, vigilance and teaching,” said Dr. Jen Ashton, ABC News Chief Women’s Health Correspondent. “We all know women who say, ‘You know, I wasn’t that maternal until I had my own child and then something clicked,’ or we become multitasksers.”
“The current findings indicate that human pregnancy is associated with substantial long-lasting alterations in brain structure, which may serve an adaptive purpose for pending motherhood,” the study, authored by Elseline Hoekzema of Leiden University and a team of researchers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona states. “These data provide, to our knowledge, the first insights into the profound impact of pregnancy on the gray matter architecture of the human brain.”
The researchers also examined first-time fathers, and did not observe these brain changes.
“Interestingly, they studied male brains and no difference. No difference in the male brain. Not even a little bit,” Dr. Ashton said. “I’d like to see the study done in adoptive moms too.”
The brain changes that the scientists witnessed in the mothers were not measured in terms of cognitive performance or intellectual sharpness, so it is impossible to directly link the alterations to real-world outcomes. The authors of the study speculated that the gray matter changes may be what helps a mother facilitate attachment to their baby.
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