“Pregnancy involves radical hormone surges and biological adaptations. However, the effects of pregnancy on the human brain are virtually unknown. Here (the authors) show, using a prospective (‘pre’-‘post’ pregnancy) study involving first-time mothers and fathers and nulliparous control groups, that pregnancy renders substantial changes in brain structure, primarily reductions in gray matter volume in regions subserving social cognition. The changes were selective for the mothers and highly consistent, correctly classifying all women as having undergone pregnancy or not in-between sessions. Interestingly, the volume reductions showed a substantial overlap with brain regions responding to the women’s babies postpartum. Furthermore, the gray matter volume changes of pregnancy predicted measures of postpartum maternal attachment, suggestive of an adaptive process serving the transition into motherhood. Another follow-up session showed that the gray matter reductions endured for at least two years post-pregnancy. (These) data provide the first evidence that pregnancy confers long-lasting changes in a woman’s brain.”

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Hoekzema E, Barba-Müller E, Pozzobon C, Picado M, Lucco F, García-García D, Soliva JC, Tobeña A, Desco M, Crone EA, Ballesteros A, Carmona S, Vilarroya O: Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure.

Nature Neuroscience [Epub ahead of print, Dec. 19, 2016; doi: 10.1038/nn.4458].

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27991897