The plasticity of human maternal brain: Longitudinal changes in brain anatomy during the early postpartum period.

Abstract

Animal studies suggest that structural changes occur in the maternal brain during the early postpartum period in regions such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, parietal lobe, and prefrontal cortex and such changes are related to the expression of maternal behaviors. In an attempt to explore this in humans, we conducted a prospective longitudinal study to examine gray matter changes using voxel-based morphometry on high resolution magnetic resonance images of mothers’ brains at two time points: 2–4 weeks postpartum and 3–4 months postpartum. Comparing gray matter volumes across these two time points, we found increases in gray matter volume of the prefrontal cortex, parietal lobes, and midbrain areas. Increased gray matter volume in the midbrain including the hypothalamus, substantia nigra, and amygdala was associated with maternal positive perception of her baby. These results suggest that the first months of motherhood in humans are accompanied by structural changes in brain regions implicated in maternal motivation and behaviors.

A trip down memory lane about sex differences in the brain

“…For example, learning was impaired by stress in virgin females, but not in females that had offspring and/or learned to care for offspring at some time in her life-even well after weaning [27,72]. In women, the amount of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala increases during the first month of having a baby and some of those changes relate to positive thoughts about her baby [73]. But motherhood is not the only substantial change that females experience.…”

Testicular volume is inversely correlated with nurturing-related brain activity in human fathers

“…(reviewed in ref. 33), and gray matter in the VTA increases in new mothers during the early postpartum period (34).…”

How Socioeconomic Disadvantages Get Under the Skin and into the Brain to Influence Health Development Across the Lifespan

“…Not only is this the period when a child's brain and body are most rapidly developing, it is also a period when a parent's brain undergoes plastic changes to support the parental role (Kim and Bianco 2014;Swain et al 2014). For example, during the first few months of the postpartum period, both new mothers and fathers exhibit structural growth in brain regions including the striatum and prefrontal cortex that support warm and supportive parenting behaviors (Kim et al 2010b;. Sensitive neural activations, particularly for one's own baby, have also been consistently identified among new mothers and fathers during these same periods, when parents and infants establish long-lasting emotional relationships (Barrett and Fleming 2011;Mascaro et al 2013;Musser et al 2012).…”