Pregnancy completely rewires mothers' brains — study – DW – 09/18/2024
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Neuroscientists scanned the brain of a pregnant woman and captured a 'widespread reorganization' of her brain before, during and after pregnancy.

The researchers found sweeping changes in overall brain neuroanatomy which unfolded week by week during the pregnancy.

Inside Chrastil’s brain, grey matter volume, cortical thickness, white matter microstructure, and ventricle volume all changed.

The changes were all over the brain too — “over 80% of my brain regions showed reductions in grey matter volume,” Chrastil said.

Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy. Published by Pritschet, L., Taylor, C.M., Cossio, D. et al. in Nature Neuroscience (September 2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01741-0

  • treadfulEnglish
    7·
    2 months ago

    The changes were all over the brain too — “over 80% of my brain regions showed reductions in grey matter volume,” Chrastil said.

    Grey matter is brain tissue with high concentrations of neuron cell bodies, where information is processed. Reductions in grey matter volume are sometimes associated with reduced memory and cognitive function.

    However, the study authors say a reduction in grey matter during pregnancy isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s more like a wave of brain refinement as the brain prepares for motherhood — like the process of chiseling a block of marble into a sculpture.

    Seems like an overly positive framing of the effect.