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Review
. 2021 Oct 7:2:742775.
doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2021.742775. eCollection 2021.

Characterizing the Brain Structural Adaptations Across the Motherhood Transition

Magdalena Martínez-García  1   2 , María Paternina-Die  1   2 , Manuel Desco  1   2   3   4 , Oscar Vilarroya  5   6 , Susanna Carmona  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Characterizing the Brain Structural Adaptations Across the Motherhood Transition

Magdalena Martínez-García et al. Front Glob Womens Health. .

Abstract

Women that become mothers face notable physiological adaptations during this life-period. Neuroimaging studies of the last decade have provided grounded evidence that women's brains structurally change across the transition into motherhood. The characterization of this brain remodeling is currently in its early years of research. The current article reviews this scientific field by focusing on our longitudinal (pre-to-post pregnancy) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies in first-time parents and other longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of parents. We present the questions that are currently being answered by the parental brain literature and point out those that have not yet been explored. We also highlight potential confounding variables that need to be considered when analyzing and interpreting brain changes observed during motherhood.

Keywords: MRI; maternal behavior; mother; neuroplasticity; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the maternal brain GM volume findings and suggested trajectories. (A) Findings of the longitudinal MRI structural studies tracking the maternal brain. Represented studies are (–7). (B) Hypothetical trajectories in GM volume across pregnancy and postpartum periods.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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