NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — Women often claim that motherhood changes them forever. But now scientists from Britain’s Francis Crick Institute are unlocking the molecular secrets of exactly how pregnancy affects women’s brains and genes.
Changes in the brain: How does it work?
According to group leader of the Neural Processing Laboratory Johannes Kohl at the Francis Crick Institute, pregnancy activates the hormones estradiol and progesterone. These hormones restructure some neurons in a woman’s brain by attaching to receptors that can directly influence genes.
The researchers used mice to study these changes. They compared the behavior of pregnant mice with nulliparous ones. And it turns out that pregnancy does affect the activity of certain nerve cells in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain associated with parental behavior.
Progesterone: The Brain-Changing Hormone
The most interesting result was that progesterone, one of the pregnancy hormones, had a lasting remodeling effect on the brain. This hormone stimulated the creation of small projections in neurons called dendritic spines. These changes allow neurons to communicate and exchange information in their new parent state.
Other studies have also found interesting aspects of motherhood. Baby mice, for example, steal nutrients from their mothers through the placenta. They use the genes they inherited from their father to redirect nutrients to their benefit.
However, mothers’ genes tend to resist this process. Genetic imprinting and hormones released by the placenta create a real tug-of-war between mother and child during pregnancy.
These studies indicate that pregnancy has long-term effects on a woman’s brain. What is interesting is how these changes in neuronal structure influence parenting behavior and mother-child interactions.
Study co-author Miguel Constancia notes that conflicts between mother and child within the mother’s body are quite complex, but, fortunately, most pregnancies are successful.
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