WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new study in the journal Nature Neuroscience provides insights into the changes in a woman's brain during pregnancy. The researchers found a remarkable decrease in the volume of cortical gray matter, the brain's outer layer, along with an increase in the integrity of deeper white matter. These changes were found to be correlated with escalating levels of the hormones estradiol and progesterone.
This groundbreaking research focused on Elizabeth Chrastil, a 38-year-old cognitive neuroscientist from the University of California, Irvine, and involved 26 brain scans taken from three weeks before conception through nine months of pregnancy and two years postpartum.
The scans revealed an average decrease of around 4% in gray matter across approximately 80% of the brain regions studied, as well as increases in cerebrospinal fluid and white matter microstructure during the second and third trimesters, all linked to escalating hormone levels.
Co-author Emily Jacobs from the University of California, Santa Barbara, noted 'Previous studies had taken snapshots of the brain before and after pregnancy, but we've never witnessed the brain in the midst of this metamorphosis.'
While the decrease in gray matter may raise concerns, researchers suggest it could signify a refinement of brain circuits, akin to the changes experienced by young adults during puberty. Laura Pritschet, lead author and postdoctoral scholar at the University of Pennsylvania explained that some of the changes might reflect the body's adaptation to the demands of pregnancy.
Looking to the future, researchers aim to delve deeper into how these changes may be linked to conditions such as postpartum depression and the impact of preeclampsia on the brain. Jacobs stressed the need for more comprehensive data, highlighting that out of the 50,000 brain imaging studies published over the past three decades, less than half of one percent concentrate on health issues specific to women, such as pregnancy.
Since completing the study, the researchers have observed similar patterns in other pregnant women participating in the ongoing Maternal Brain Project, supported by the Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Initiative and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, with the hope of further understanding the complexities of the maternal brain.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
