A new study offers the first detailed map of a woman’s brain throughout gestation, revealing dramatic changes that occur as a woman prepares for motherhood. Led by neuroscientist Liz Chrastil, the research, published in Nature Neuroscience, offers a unique glimpse into the intricate rewiring of the brain during pregnancy, The Associated Press reports.
The study, which involved 26 brain scans before, during, and after pregnancy, revealed that over 80% of the brain regions studied experienced reductions in gray matter volume – the area responsible for thinking and processing information. This reduction, averaging about 4% of the brain, is comparable to the changes seen during puberty. While this may seem concerning, researchers stress that it likely represents a fine-tuning of neural circuits, preparing the brain for the challenges of motherhood.
“We’ve never witnessed the brain in the midst of this metamorphosis,” said co-author Emily Jacobs of the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Previous studies took snapshots before and after pregnancy, but this study follows the brain’s journey in real time.”
The research team tracked Chrastil’s brain changes throughout her pregnancy, focusing on both the outer layer of the brain (cerebral cortex) and the inner regions, a novel approach compared to past studies.
“It’s a good first step to understanding much more about whole-brain changes that could be possible in a woman across pregnancy and postpartum,” said Joseph Lonstein, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Michigan State University.
While the study doesn’t address the behavioral implications of these changes, researchers note that the affected brain areas are crucial for social cognition, suggesting potential links to the development of nurturing behaviors.
This study is just the beginning of a larger international project called the Maternal Brain Project, supported by the Ann S. Bowers Women’s Brain Health Initiative and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The project aims to scan the brains of hundreds of women, ultimately hoping to utilize the data for predicting and potentially preventing postpartum depression.
“There is so much about the neurobiology of pregnancy that we don’t understand yet,” said Jacobs. “It’s not because women are too complicated. It’s a byproduct of the fact that biomedical sciences have historically ignored women’s health.”
