References :
Ammari, R., Monaca, F., Cao, M., Nassar, E., Wai, P., Del Grosso, N. A., Lee, M., Borak, N., Schneider-Luftman, D., & Kohl, J. (2023). Science (New York, N.Y.), 382(6666), 76–81. https://t.co/jya5os42km
Paper #6 - Ammari et al., 2023
Hormonal changes of parturition (giving birth) have already been associated with behavioral changes such as anxiety, attachment, or postpartum depression.
Therefore, they gathered evidence on the impact of hormones on behavior during pregnancy. Estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) each control important aspects, but both promote adult plasticity to drive parenting in response to pup cues.
References :
Servin-Barthet, C., Martínez-García, M., Pretus, C., Paternina-Die, M., Soler, A., Khymenets, O., Pozo, Ó. J. (2023). The transition to motherhood: linking hormones, brain and behaviour. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 24(10), 605–619. https://t.co/53Q7xH71yO
Memo #6 - Pregnancy in the brain
Becoming a mother induces profound neurobiological changes, driven by hormonal fluctuations unlike any other in a woman’s life.
These structural changes are associated with improved mother-infant attachment and increased responsiveness to the infant’s stimuli, interpreted not as a deterioration but as an adaptive specialization of the brain.