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Pregnancy Doesn't Necessarily Mean 'Stupid for Three Years' ——The Positive Impact of Reproductive Experience on Women's Psychological Functions
Kong Lingnan, Teng Yue, Che Ying, Xin Jianing, Gao Jun
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (3) : 646-657.
PDF(415 KB)
PDF(415 KB)
Pregnancy Doesn't Necessarily Mean 'Stupid for Three Years' ——The Positive Impact of Reproductive Experience on Women's Psychological Functions
Reproductive experience is a complex and transformative life event for women, encompassing physiological, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Traditionally, pregnancy and childbirth have been associated with cognitive impairments and emotional instability. However, emerging research across human and animal models has begun to challenge this notion, revealing that reproductive experience may enhance core psychological functions. This paper provides a comprehensive synthesis of the positive effects of reproductive experience on women's psychological functioning. It emphasizes two key domains: the cognitive system— particularly memory, attention, and executive function—and emotional regulation. Furthermore, it explores the underlying neurobiological and evolutionary mechanisms that support these enhancements, offering a multidimensional perspective on the adaptive value of motherhood.
Reproductive experience is linked to cognitive skills, such as improved spatial and recognition memory, enhanced attentional shifts, and greater cognitive flexibility. Such improvements are especially evident in tasks requiring adaptive planning and decision-making—critical components for managing childcare responsibilities. Neuroimaging and behavioral studies show that, postpartum, gray matter volume increases in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, indicating enhanced neuroplasticity and structural adaptation. Additionally, rodent models support that reproductive females outperform non-mothers in spatial navigation and memory tasks, indicating cross-species consistency in reproductive-related cognitive benefits. While some memory subtypes, such as prospective and retrieval memory, may experience transient challenges, these effects are typically reversible and compensated by gains in more immediately functional memory systems that are crucial for parenting.
Reproduction experience is also associated with improved emotion regulation abilities and increased psychological resilience (i.e., the ability to adapt and recover from stress). Although the perinatal period carries risks for mood disturbances, several studies report reduced levels of anxiety and depression in the postpartum period compared to pregnancy. Enhanced emotional coping may arise from hormonal regulation (e.g., increased oxytocin and prolactin), combined with experiential learning through caregiving. Psychological resilience also appears to be strengthened, enabling mothers to navigate the multifaceted demands of parenting with greater emotional stability and flexibility in coping. These adaptive emotional changes not only benefit maternal well-being but also contribute to more secure parent-infant attachment and healthier developmental outcomes in offspring.
The underlying mechanisms behind these psychological enhancements can be examined on both physiological and theoretical perspectives. Neurophysiologically, changes in brain structure and connectivity, particularly in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and associated networks, support improved cognitive and emotional capacities. Hormonal fluctuations throughout pregnancy and lactation, including oxytocin, prolactin, and estradiol, play a key role in promoting neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and executive function, thereby promoting functional enhancement in the maternal brain.
Theoretically, these changes are supported by both evolutionary psychology and environmental adaptation models. From an evolutionary perspective, the cognitive and emotional upgrades associated with motherhood may reflect adaptive traits that promote offspring survival and overall maternal fitness. Parental investment theory posits that mothers develop specialized psychological traits to better meet their children’s needs and enhance offspring survival. In parallel, the environmental adaptation model similarly views motherhood as a high-demand context that dynamically reshapes attentional and emotional systems to meet caregiving challenges. Together, these frameworks underscore how reproduction can act as a catalyst for long-term psychological optimization.
In conclusion, reproductive experience should not be regarded solely as a source of psychological vulnerability, but rather as a potential driver of functional enhancement across multiple psychological domains. Recognizing these benefits carries significant implications for maternal healthcare policy, public discourse, and intervention development. Future research should adopt culturally sensitive approaches and longitudinal designs to further explore how different reproductive trajectories, cultural values, and social supports interact to influence women's mental health. Interventions should be culturally tailored to local contexts, particularly for Chinese women, by integrating traditional practices, such as Tai Chi and mindfulness with evidence-based psychological frameworks. These culturally informed strategies may help amplify the benefits of reproduction while mitigating associated risks, thereby fostering maternal well-being and broader societal understanding.
reproductive experience / pregnancy / cognitive system / emotion regulation / women's health
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Motor development and psychological development are fundamentally related, but researchers typically consider them separately. In this review, we present four key features of infant motor development and show that motor skill acquisition both requires and reflects basic psychological functions. ( a) Motor development is embodied: Opportunities for action depend on the current status of the body. ( b) Motor development is embedded: Variations in the environment create and constrain possibilities for action. ( c) Motor development is enculturated: Social and cultural influences shape motor behaviors. ( d) Motor development is enabling: New motor skills create new opportunities for exploration and learning that instigate cascades of development across diverse psychological domains. For each of these key features, we show that changes in infants' bodies, environments, and experiences entail behavioral flexibility and are thus essential to psychology. Moreover, we suggest that motor development is an ideal model system for the study of psychological development.
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To determine the pattern of gene expression in brains associated with mothering during the postpartum period, in the present study we assessed gene expression through microarrays in four groups of female rats: two groups of new mothers that were experiencing the hormonal and neurochemical changes associated with pregnancy and parturition, and two groups of virgin females that were not. Within each of these parity groups we assessed one group of animals that was exposed to and responded to pups and engaged in maternal behavior, and one group left without any exposure to pups and therefore had no maternal experience. We explored the pattern of expression of genes related to the hormones, neurotransmitters, and modulatory neuropeptides associated with maternal behavior within the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and the medial amygdala (MeA) in the rat. Within the MPOA there were significant main effects of pup exposure for the dopamine-related genes (DRD4 and dopamine transporter, DAT), the glucocorticoid-related gene (CYPX1B1a), the opioid receptor μ-1 gene (OPRM1) and the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor gene (GABAbRid). OPRM1 and the serotonin-related gene that regulates biosynthesis of serotonin (5HTR2A) showed a main effect of parity. For both sets of analyses, higher gene expression was associated with pup exposure and parity. Genes expressed in the MeA tended to reside in the glucocorticoid family. The microarrays were able to identify, on a transcriptional level, a list of candidate genes involved in maternal behavior and the factors that surround it.
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The aim of this study was to determine the impact of maternal age on executive function and the moderating effects of women's maternal status and early-life experiences. Four groups of women were assessed as a function of their age (teens vs. adults) and maternal status (mothers vs. nonmothers). Participants completed executive function tests, including Spatial Working Memory (SWM), Intra-Extra-Dimensional-Set-Shift (IED), and Stockings of Cambridge (SOC). Women also completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire to assess their experiences of early adversity. Results showed that for the IED-task, there were main effects of age and maternal status and an interaction between the two; adults performed better than teens, mothers performed better than nonmothers, and teen nonmothers performed the least well of all groups. For the SWM-task, adults performed better than teens. Our results indicate that although age is an important factor for proper executive functioning, different tasks are affected differently and other factors such as maternity and adverse childhood experiences moderate this functioning.© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Where the non-human animal research investigating reproduction-induced cognitive reorganization has focused on neural plasticity and adaptive advantage in response to the demands associated with pregnancy and parenting, human studies have primarily concentrated on pregnancy-induced memory decline. The current review updates Henry and Rendell's 2007 meta-analysis, and examines cognitive reorganization as the result of reproductive experience from an adaptationist perspective. Investigations of pregnancy-induced cognitive change in human females may benefit by focusing on areas, such as social cognition, where a cognitive advantage would serve a protective function, and by extending the study duration beyond pregnancy into the postpartum period.
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To investigate the relationship between antenatal and postpartum depression and anxiety and to explore associated maternal characteristics.From a population-based sample of 1,555 women attending two obstetric clinics in Sweden, all women with an antenatal psychiatric diagnosis (n = 220) and a random selection of healthy women (n = 500) were contacted for a second assessment three to six months postpartum. The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders was used for evaluation on both occasions.Fewer cases of depressive and/or anxiety disorders were prevalent postpartum compared with the second trimester screening. Depression and/or anxiety were prevalent in 16.5% of postpartal women versus 29.2% of pregnant women. There was a significant shift from a majority of subthreshold diagnoses during pregnancy to full Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) diagnoses during the postpartum period. A history of previous psychiatric disorder, living single, and obesity were significantly associated with a new-onset postpartum psychiatric disorder. The absence of a previous psychiatric disorder was significantly associated with a postpartum recovery of depression or anxiety.Depression and anxiety appear to be less common postpartum than during pregnancy.
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Understanding how a human brain creates a human mind ultimately depends on mapping psychological categories and concepts to physical measurements of neural response. Although it has long been assumed that emotional, social, and cognitive phenomena are realized in the operations of separate brain regions or brain networks, we demonstrate that it is possible to understand the body of neuroimaging evidence using a framework that relies on domain general, distributed structure-function mappings. We review current research in affective and social neuroscience and argue that the emerging science of large-scale intrinsic brain networks provides a coherent framework for a domain-general functional architecture of the human brain.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Telomeres are the protective end-complexes at the termini of eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomere attrition can lead to potentially maladaptive cellular changes, block cell division, and interfere with tissue replenishment. Recent advances in the understanding of human disease processes have clarified the roles of telomere biology, especially in diseases of human aging and in some aging-related processes. Greater overall telomere attrition predicts mortality and aging-related diseases in inherited telomere syndrome patients, and also in general human cohorts. However, genetically caused variations in telomere maintenance either raise or lower risks and progression of cancers, in a highly cancer type-specific fashion. Telomere maintenance is determined by genetic factors and is also cumulatively shaped by nongenetic influences throughout human life; both can interact. These and other recent findings highlight both causal and potentiating roles for telomere attrition in human diseases. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Studies examining the roles of estrogens and progestins on spatial cognition have been highly contradictory. To determine if the hormonal environment of pregnancy affects spatial cognition, pregnant (n = 7) and virgin (n = 7) Hooded Long-Evans rats were tested in a Morris water maze throughout the 3 weeks of pregnancy and the second week postpartum. Latency to platform, path length, swim velocity, and time in quadrant were compared over trial-days. To compare water maze performance with changes in hormone levels, serum concentrations of estradiol and progesterone were measured on the first, third, and fifth days of testing during the third week of pregnancy. Subjects learned to find the platform as indicated by decreased time and distance to platform over each trial-week and increased time spent in the quadrant where the platform had been located the previous week. However, there were no differences between treatment groups on time or distance to platform over trial-days. Swim velocity did not differ between or within groups over the 4 weeks of testing. Although primigravid and virgin females were similar in their abilities to learn the novel location of a submerged platform and return to it over time, pregnant animals demonstrated less perseveration to previously learned information and were quicker to locate the platform when it moved to a new location. Thus, reproductive status did not affect reference memory but enhanced working memory in the Morris water maze.
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The non-genomic transmission of maternal behavior from one generation to the next illustrates the pervasive influence of maternal care on offspring development and the high degree of plasticity within the developing maternal brain. Investigations of the mechanisms through which these maternal effects are achieved have demonstrated environmentally-induced changes in gene expression associated with epigenetic modifications within the promoter region of target genes. These findings raise challenging questions regarding the pathways linking experience to behavioral variation and the broader ecological/evolutionary implications of the dynamic changes in neuroendocrine function that emerge. This review will highlight studies in laboratory rodents which demonstrate plasticity in the maternal brain and the role of maternally-induced changes in DNA methylation in establishing the link between variations in maternal care and consequent developmental outcomes. The persistence of maternal effects across generations and the trade-offs in reproduction that are evident in female offspring who experience high vs. low levels of maternal care contribute to our understanding of the divergent strategies that are triggered by the quality of early-life experiences. Evolving concepts of inheritance and the interplay between genes and the environment may advance our understanding of the origins of individual differences in phenotype.Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Many women report declines in cognitive function during pregnancy, but attempts to empirically evaluate such changes have yielded inconsistent results. We aimed to determine whether pregnancy is associated with objective declines in cognitive functioning, and to assess the progression of any declines during pregnancy.We undertook a meta-analysis, applying a random effects model, of 20 studies that have reported quantitative relationships between pregnancy and changes in cognition.Full text articles indexed by Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Complete, MEDLINE Complete, and PsychINFO.The 20 studies assessed included 709 pregnant women and 521 non-pregnant women. Overall cognitive functioning was poorer in pregnant women than in non-pregnant women (standardised mean difference [SMD], 0.52 [95% CI, 0.07-0.97]; P = 0.025). Analysis of cross-sectional studies found that general cognitive functioning (SMD, 1.28 [95% CI 0.26-2.30]; P = 0.014), memory (SMD, 1.47 [95% CI, 0.27-2.68]; P = 0.017), and executive functioning (SMD, 0.46 [95% CI, 0.03-0.89]; P = 0.036) were significantly reduced during the third trimester of pregnancy (compared with control women), but not during the first two trimesters. Longitudinal studies found declines between the first and second trimesters in general cognitive functioning (SMD, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.08-0.50]; P = 0.006) and memory (SMD, 0.33 [95% CI, 0.12-0.54]; P = 0.002), but not between the second and third trimesters.General cognitive functioning, memory, and executive functioning were significantly poorer in pregnant than in control women, particularly during the third trimester. The differences primarily develop during the first trimester, and are consistent with recent findings of long term reductions in brain grey matter volume during pregnancy. The impact of these effects on the quality of life and everyday functioning of pregnant women requires further investigation.
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The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has received increasing attention for its role in modulating social-emotional processes across species. Previous studies on using intranasal-OT in humans point to a crucial engagement of the amygdala in the observed neuromodulatory effects of OT under task and rest conditions. However, the amygdala is not a single homogenous structure, but rather a set of structurally and functionally heterogeneous nuclei that show distinct patterns of connectivity with limbic and frontal emotion-processing regions. To determine potential differential effects of OT on functional connectivity of the amygdala subregions, 79 male participants underwent resting-state fMRI following randomized intranasal-OT or placebo administration. In line with previous studies OT increased the connectivity of the total amygdala with dorso-medial prefrontal regions engaged in emotion regulation. In addition, OT enhanced coupling of the total amygdala with cerebellar regions. Importantly, OT differentially altered the connectivity of amygdala subregions with distinct up-stream cortical nodes, particularly prefrontal/parietal, and cerebellar down-stream regions. OT-induced increased connectivity with cerebellar regions were largely driven by effects on the centromedial and basolateral subregions, whereas increased connectivity with prefrontal regions were largely mediated by right superficial and basolateral subregions. OT decreased connectivity of the centromedial subregions with core hubs of the emotional face processing network in temporal, occipital and parietal regions. Preliminary findings suggest that effects on the superficial amygdala-prefrontal pathway were inversely associated with levels of subclinical depression, possibly indicating that OT modulation may be blunted in the context of increased pathological load. Together, the present findings suggest a subregional-specific modulatory role of OT on amygdala-centered emotion processing networks in humans.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Maternal behaviors are essential for the survival of the young. Previous studies implicated the medial preoptic area (MPOA) as an important region for maternal behaviors, but details of the maternal circuit remain incompletely understood. Here we identify estrogen receptor alpha (Esr1)-expressing cells in the MPOA as key mediators of pup approach and retrieval. Reversible inactivation of MPOA(Esr1+) cells impairs those behaviors, whereas optogenetic activation induces immediate pup retrieval. In vivo recordings demonstrate preferential activation of MPOA(Esr1+) cells during maternal behaviors and changes in MPOA cell responses across reproductive states. Furthermore, channelrhodopsin-assisted circuit mapping reveals a strong inhibitory projection from MPOA(Esr1+) cells to ventral tegmental area (VTA) non-dopaminergic cells. Pathway-specific manipulations reveal that this projection is essential for driving pup approach and retrieval and that VTA dopaminergic cells are reliably activated during those behaviors. Altogether, this study provides new insight into the neural circuit that generates maternal behaviors.
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The peripartum period is accompanied by dramatic changes in hormones and a host of new behaviours in response to experience with offspring. Both maternal experience and maternal hormones can have a significant impact upon the brain and behaviour. This review outlines recent studies demonstrating modifications in hippocampal plasticity across the peripartum period, as well as the putative hormonal mechanisms underlying these changes and their modulation by stress. In addition, the impact of reproductive experience upon the ageing hippocampus is discussed. Finally, we consider how these changes in hippocampal structure may play a role in postpartum cognitive function and mood disorders, as well as age-related cognitive decline. © 2014 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.
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The present study was designed to determine whether becoming a mother during the adolescent period changes maternal responsiveness or maternal motivation, assessed through hormonal, autonomic, and hedonic responses to recorded infant cries and interactions with their babies. Fifty-six teen mothers were compared to 58 teen non-mothers and 49 adult mothers. Teen mothers reported more sympathy and alertness in response to recorded infant cries compared to non -mother teens; however, among the teen women there were no differences between mothers and non-mothers in heart rate and cortisol responses to infant cries. In contrast, in comparison to adult mothers, teen mothers reported the same levels of sympathy and alertness to infant cries; however, adult mothers showed an 'alerted' pattern of heart rate and cortisol response to infant cries not seen in the teen mother group. Inclusion of the covariate, fathers' employment classification as an index of SES or time of testing and cortisol sampling did not affect this pattern of results. Taken together, these results show that where self-report is used as a measure of maternal responsiveness, teen mothers are no different in responsiveness than adult mothers; however, where physiological and interactional measures of responsiveness are considered, teen mothers are less likely to show heightened or selective responses to infant cries or respond 'attentively' to the infant.
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Research suggests that early life adversity may affect subsequent parenting. Animal studies investigating mechanisms of transmission have focused on biological factors; whereas research in humans has emphasized cognitive and psychosocial factors. We hypothesized that neuropsychological and physiological factors would act as mediators between maternal retrospective reports of early life experiences (ELE) and current parenting.We recruited a community sample of 89 mothers and their infants (2-6 months of age). Maternal ELE consisted of self-reports of consistency of care and childhood maltreatment. Diurnal salivary cortisol samples were collected as the measure of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function. Executive function measures included attentional set-shifting and spatial working memory. Maternal sensitivity was assessed through videotapes of mothers interacting with their infants.A series of path analyses indicated that maternal ELE was indirectly related to maternal sensitivity via two pathways: one through HPA function, and the other through HPA function and spatial working memory. There was no direct path between maternal ELE and parenting.These findings provide support for the notion that mediators linking early life experiences to parenting in humans may be similar to physiological mechanisms found in animal models. As maternal care is associated with numerous infant outcomes, our findings may have broad relevance to understanding the risk associated with parenting and adverse outcomes in infants. A greater understanding of mechanism is important to informing interventions targeted at disrupting maladaptive trajectories of parenting.Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Japan has been experiencing a continuing decline in fertility and an increase in premarital conceptions and abortions among young people. Child rearing is often viewed as a burden. In response, Japan is now seeking ways to improve the child-rearing environment for parents. In this context, we conducted a prospective study among 206 pregnant women in Sukagawa City, Fukushima, to explore the influences of pregnancy intention on child rearing. We found that unintended pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of negative child-rearing outcomes, including lower mother-to-child attachment, increased negative feelings of mothers and a lower level of participation of fathers in child rearing. Unintended pregnancy exacerbates the real and perceived burdens of child rearing. Japan is currently facing a conflict between wanting to reduce unintended pregnancies and increase the national fertility rate. We believe the government needs to address the social challenges affecting people's family lives, which underpin low fertility, rather than focus on fertility decline per se. We suggest Japan seeks to reduce unintended pregnancies and provide support to parents at high risk of child-rearing difficulties. We also suggest adopting a comprehensive approach to improving the lives of young couples, with a focus on adolescents, including life-skills education to prepare for adulthood, marriage and parenthood.
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Oxytocin (OXT) is a neuropeptide which has a critical role in human social behaviour and cognition. Research investigating the role of OXT on functional brain changes in humans has often used task paradigms that probe socioemotional processes. Preliminary evidence suggests a central role of the amygdala in the social cognitive effects of intranasal OXT (IN-OXT), however, inconsistencies in task-design and analysis methods have led to inconclusive findings regarding a cohesive model of the neural mechanisms underlying OXT's actions. The aim of this meta-analysis was to systematically investigate these findings. A systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases was conducted for fMRI studies which compared IN-OXT to placebo in humans. First, we systematically reviewed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of IN-OXT, including studies of healthy humans, those with clinical disorders, and studies examining resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI). Second, we employed a coordinate-based meta-analysis for task-based neuroimaging literature using activation likelihood estimation (ALE), whereby, coordinates were extracted from clusters with significant differences in IN-OXT versus placebo in healthy adults. Data were included for 39 fMRI studies that reported a total of 374 distinct foci. The meta-analysis identified task-related IN-OXT increases in activity within a cluster of the left superior temporal gyrus during tasks of emotion processing. These findings are important as they implicate regions beyond the amygdala in the neural effects of IN-OXT. The outcomes from this meta-analysis can guide a priori predictions for future OXT research, and provide an avenue for targeted treatment interventions.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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New myelinating oligodendrocytes are continuously generated in the white matter of the uninjured adult CNS by oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and neural stem cells (NSCs). Currently, little is known about the function of these new cells or the physiological processes that regulate their generation and differentiation. Importantly, new oligodendrocytes are able to contribute to the endogenous repair of white matter damage. Thus, a major biological and biomedical interest in the regulatory mechanisms governing their generation in the adult brain has arisen. Here I discuss work that demonstrates that hormonal changes during pregnancy promote increased OPC proliferation and oligodendrocyte production in the maternal CNS. We found that the maternal increase in oligodendrocyte production is associated with a significantly enhanced ability to regenerate white matter damage. Prolactin (PRL) signaling is both necessary and sufficient for the pregnancy-induced increase in OPC proliferation, and most strikingly, PRL treatments mimic the regenerative effects of pregnancy and promote white matter repair and remyelination in virgin females. I consider the implications of this work for our understanding of maternal adaptations to pregnancy and for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.
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The growing recognition that social needs of primates in captivity must be addressed can present challenges to staff at primate facilities charged with implementing pair-housing solutions for animals. Unfortunately, there are few published papers that identify individual characteristics that might facilitate the social pairing process, and those that have looked at pre-pairing measures of behavior have produced mixed results. Using a database of n = 340 isosexual pairing attempts, we report that measures associated with responses to a standardized infant assessment protocol (the BioBehavioral Assessment program) predict success in pairing attempts that occurred years later. Behavioral responses to a brief separation and relocation, to a human intruder challenge, as well as ratings of temperament, were obtained from rhesus monkeys at 3-4 months of age. Logistic regression was used to identify potential predictors of success when animals were paired up to 10 years after the behavioral assessments. Among females, success was higher when members of a pair were more similar (i.e., a smaller difference scores) in patterns of emotional responding (Emotionality, Nervous temperament) during the infant assessments. In contrast, among males, success was higher when the pair had lower mean values for Gentle and Nervous temperament scores; when the members were younger; when pairs had a greater weight difference; and when they came from the same rearing background. Together, our results suggest that broad measures reflecting patterns of emotionality in response to challenge, which can be assessed in infancy (but which remain relatively stable throughout life) can be usefully employed to increase the likelihood of success in pairing attempts. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22464, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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| [39] |
Although until recently much of the evidence for pregnancy-related deficits in memory was anecdotal or based on self-report, a number of studies have now been conducted that have tested whether these subjective appraisals of memory difficulties reflect objective impairment. However, these studies have failed to yield consistent results. A meta-analysis of the 14 studies that have been conducted over the past 17 years comparing pregnant and/or postpartum women with healthy matched controls on behavioral measures of memory was conducted. The results indicate that pregnant women are significantly impaired on some, but not all, measures of memory, and, specifically, memory measures that place relatively high demands on executive cognitive control may be selectively disrupted. The same specific deficits associated with pregnancy are also observed postpartum. These findings highlight the need for exploration of the etiologies and functional consequences of pregnancy-related memory difficulties and may help to guide the interpretation of neuropsychological data for the purpose of determining cognitive status in individuals who are pregnant or postpartum.
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| [41] |
Cognitive deficits, especially in memory and concentration, are often reported during pregnancy. Similar cognitive dysfunctions can also occur in depression and anxiety. To date, few studies have investigated the associations between cognitive deficits and psychiatric symptoms during pregnancy. This field is of interest because maternal cognitive functioning, and particularly its higher-order aspects are related to maternal well-being and caregiving behavior, as well as later child development.Pregnant women (N =230), reporting low (n =87), moderate (n =97), or high (n =46) levels of depressive, general anxiety and/or pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms (assessed repeatedly with EPDS, SCL-90/anxiety subscale, PRAQ-R2, respectively) were tested in mid-pregnancy for their cognitive functions. A computerized neuropsychological test battery was used.Pregnant women with high or moderate level of psychiatric symptoms had significantly more errors in visuospatial working memory/executive functioning task than mothers with low symptom level. Depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy and concurrent pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms were significant predictors of the performance in the task. General anxiety symptoms were not related to visuospatial working memory.Cognitive functions were evaluated only at one time-point during pregnancy precluding causal conclusions.Maternal depressive symptoms and pregnancy-related anxiety symptoms were both associated with decrements in visuospatial working memory/executive functioning. Depressive symptoms seem to present more stable relationship with cognitive deficits, while pregnancy-related anxiety was associated only concurrently. Future studies could investigate, how stable these cognitive differences are, and whether they affect maternal ability to deal with demands of pregnancy and later parenting.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Animal studies suggest that structural changes occur in the maternal brain during the early postpartum period in regions such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, parietal lobe, and prefrontal cortex and such changes are related to the expression of maternal behaviors. In an attempt to explore this in humans, we conducted a prospective longitudinal study to examine gray matter changes using voxel-based morphometry on high resolution magnetic resonance images of mothers' brains at two time points: 2-4 weeks postpartum and 3-4 months postpartum. Comparing gray matter volumes across these two time points, we found increases in gray matter volume of the prefrontal cortex, parietal lobes, and midbrain areas. Increased gray matter volume in the midbrain including the hypothalamus, substantia nigra, and amygdala was associated with maternal positive perception of her baby. These results suggest that the first months of motherhood in humans are accompanied by structural changes in brain regions implicated in maternal motivation and behaviors.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
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As a female transitions into motherhood, many neurobiological adaptations are required to meet the demands presented by her offspring. In addition to the traditional maternal responses (e.g. crouching, nursing, retrieving, grooming), our laboratories have observed several behavioural modifications accompanying parity, especially in the areas of foraging and emotional resilience. Additionally, brain modifications have been observed in the hippocampus and amygdala, providing support for neural plasticity extending beyond the expected hypothalamic alterations. Interestingly, we have observed parenting-induced neuroplasticity to persist into late adulthood, even providing protection against age-related brain and memory deficits. Although the majority of work on the parental brain has been conducted on females, preliminary research suggests similar changes in the biparental male California deer mouse. Taken together, research suggests that the parental brain is dynamic and changeable as it undergoes diverse and, in some cases, long-lasting, modifications to facilitate the production and care of offspring.
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Oxytocin has been linked to social behavior, including social recognition, pair bonding and parenting, but its potential role in promoting neuronal growth has not been investigated. We show here that oxytocin, but not vasopressin, stimulates both cell proliferation and adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus of rats. Oxytocin is also capable of stimulating adult neurogenesis in rats subjected to glucocorticoid administration or cold water swim stress. These findings suggest that oxytocin stimulates neuronal growth and may protect against the suppressive effects of stress hormones on hippocampal plasticity.Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Human pregnancy goes along with decreasing gray matter volume in the brain of the mother. Whether these reductions remain for years or renormalize shortly after delivery is unclear. The present study used a longitudinal control group design to investigate postpartal neural plasticity.24 healthy young women were assessed with cognitive and hormonal measures in late pregnancy and underwent a brain scan within the first two months after delivery (TP1). They were compared to 24 naturally cycling women. A follow-up cognitive and imaging measurement was performed three months after the first scan in both groups (TP2, 4-5 months postpartally in the mothers).Compared to the control group, widespread gray matter volume increases from the first to second scan were observed in the new mothers (TP2 > TP1, whole-brain analysis). These were especially pronounced in frontal and cerebellar regions. The time by group interaction pattern of gray matter indicated a postpartal renormalization process, most likely following pregnancy-related decreases. Age was negatively correlated to postpartal gray matter increase in most of the regions. Despite pronounced changes in brain structure, the two groups did not reliably differ in cognitive performance.The results reveal the potential for plasticity in the adult female brain following pregnancy. They support the assumption that the volume reductions during pregnancy renormalize at least partly in the early postpartal phase. The course of renormalization seems to differ between participants of different ages. Future studies are needed to further investigate inter-individual variability and the time course of postpartal neural change.© Copyright by the Author(s). Published by Cell Physiol Biochem Press.
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Current literature on cognitive functioning in pregnancy and postpartum is mixed, with most research showing deficits in memory and attention during pregnancy or no difference between pregnant participants and controls with little emphasis on the postpartum period. In the current study, we used a longitudinal controlled design and 42 primarily not depressed participants to compare pregnant women in the third trimester and approximately three months postpartum with matched controls over the same time period on neuropsychological domains including memory, attention, learning, visuospatial, and executive functioning. We also evaluated the role of mood and quality of life as potential moderators of cognitive functioning in pregnancy/postpartum. Results indicated no differences between controls and pregnant/postpartum women on neuropsychological measures at any time points. Self-reported memory difficulties, however, were higher in the pregnant/postpartum women. Pregnant and postpartum women had worse self-reported mood and quality of life than controls. Mood and quality of life slightly moderated specific measures of attention and verbal fluency; however, neither mood nor quality of life moderated overall neuropsychological functioning in either group. Number of previous pregnancies had no effect on the study findings. Results suggest differences in subjective memory complaints, but no differences in objective neuropsychological test results between controls and pregnant/postpartum women who are primarily not diagnosed with depression.
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From 5 to 22 months of age, cognitive and emotional responses of nulliparous, primiparous, and multiparous rats were assessed using a dry land maze (DLM) and an elevated plus-maze (EPM) at 4-month intervals. Parous rats exhibited improved spatial memory in the probe and competitive versions of the DLM, and more exploration in the EPM and a novel stimulus test relative to nulliparous females. The nulliparous females, however, outperformed parous rats during the DLM visual cue test at 17 months of age. At 23 months, no differences in stressed corticosterone levels or Golgi-stained hippocampal neurons were observed. Thus, cognitive and emotional modifications were observed in parous rats; the neurobiological mechanisms for these enduring effects, however, remain to be identified.(c) 2005 APA
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| [50] |
Rodent research suggests that pregnancy, motherhood and attendant offspring care affect changes in neural function and behaviors that are not directly maternal in nature, but involve cognition, affect, and responses to stress. Thus, female rats having had one pregnancy and bout of rearing (primiparous), or multiple pregnancies and bouts of rearing (multiparous), generally show greater resilience to stress, decreased anxiety, and better memory abilities than female rats that have never experienced motherhood (virgin or nulliparous). Moreover, some studies show that these neural changes remain long after the last pregnancy, persisting even into old age. In the current review, we will begin by discussing these behavioral and neural changes in rodents and provide some information concerning their possible mechanisms. Then we will review data from studies examining anxiety and cognition in postpartum human mothers. While this data is less conclusive than that from non-human animals, it appears that reproductive experience may confer some beneficial changes to human mothers in terms of lowering the anxiety/stress response and enhancing certain aspects of memory.(c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| [51] |
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| [52] |
Women who are pregnant frequently complain of memory problems. Past research suggests that pregnancy is associated with a measurable decline when memory is tested using free recall but not when memory is tested using recognition. However, no prior studies on recognition memory tested performance across two time periods (e.g., pregnant vs. postpartum). A repeated measures design has greater power than a between-subject design to detect any difference in recognition memory performance that might exist. We administered a standardized memory test to 37 women during pregnancy and then again during the postpartum period 3 to 12 months later. Our results show that during pregnancy free-recall performance was somewhat worse (in agreement with prior research) than postpartum but that recognition performance was not worse and was, if anything, slightly enhanced. These results weigh against a purely biological explanation of the memory difficulties associated with pregnancy and instead point to a strategic explanation. In particular, the results suggest that when women are pregnant they rely more on item-specific processing (which can enhance recognition) but when they are no longer pregnant they rely more on relational processing (which enhances recall).
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| [53] |
Childbirth affects women in a myriad of ways including feelings of tiredness, being overwhelmed, stressed, and having baby blues, and if not attended to, this can lead to postpartum depression, which is a mental condition that can have disastrous effects. Childbirth can affect the mental and physical status of a woman and having supportive midwives who guide women by giving adequate information is an issue of critical concern for a positive birth experience. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has emphasised the need to facilitate childbirth choices for women as a means of having a safe and memorable experience as the experience in childbirth affects the psychological status of a woman. Some women may experience worry and anxiety during labour and childbirth, which may be exacerbated by bias and a lack of childbirth choice facilitation during pregnancy. A negative childbirth experience may lead to negative psychological distress and postpartum depression, which will interfere with the bond between the mother, baby, and family. Midwives, thus, need to understand the emotional aspects that are attached to childbirth and be able to facilitate and support the emotional as well as the psychosocial needs of women under their care. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence within the Namibian context that can provide direction and context-specific solutions to the present challenge. The current study followed a qualitative research design with an exploratory approach with one-on-one interviews with 10 midwives who were purposively selected. The midwives' experiences in this study depicted their zeal towards the issue at hand; however, what stood out were some barriers in the facilitation of childbirth choices (theme 1) as they expressed the shortages of staff, the timing of information, information sharing, and cultural influences as some of their experiences in facilitating childbirth. Furthermore, midwives shared a lack of provision for childbirth choice (theme 2) as the rights of women were not observed, and a lack of women-centred care despite protocols and guidelines being there, and yet they are not adhered to. In conclusion, midwives as primary caregivers actively need to provide unbiased childbirth information to achieve positive postpartum health. Initiating childbirth choices early in pregnancy gives women the time to weigh options and clearing of any misconceptions relating to childbirth types as well as reducing anxiety and fear of birth, which could lead to postpartum depression and by extension, the mental well-being of the women. Facilitating childbirth choices is critical in positive birth experiences and the management of childbirth as well as crafting guidelines and policy formulation that ensure a mentally healthy woman and society.
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| [54] |
This study compares the responses of matched husbands and wives in monogamous and polygynous unions, in the Yoruba village of Bolorunduro in Ondo State, Nigeria, with respect to a variety of family planning and fertility-related attitudes and behaviors. The results suggest that, although the husband and wife responses on the family planning and achieved fertility items were generally similar, responses relating to prospective fertility intentions were very different between husbands and wives. The results are consistent with the notion that fertility intention orientations in this particular culture operate essentially on an individual and not a family level. Women, whether in monogamous or polygynous unions, have fertility preferences that, while normatively bound, are clearly individual preferences and not necessarily related to their husbands' desires.
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| [55] |
Research on maternal neural response to infant distress highlights circuits that may underlie differences in quality of maternal behavior. However, it is far from clear which circuits are relevant to maternal sensitivity, as opposed to other maternal behavioral dimensions, particularly after the early postpartum. This study examined maternal sensitivity, intrusiveness, and mother-infant dyadic harmony as correlates of mothers' neural responses to the cries of their own infants. Twenty-two primiparous mothers were observed during an interaction with their infants at 18 months postpartum. In a separate functional neuroimaging session, mothers were exposed to their own infant's cry sound, as well as unfamiliar infant's cry and control sounds. Mothers who displayed more sensitive behaviors with their infant exhibited greater activation to their own infant's cry compared to that of an unfamiliar infant in the right frontal pole and inferior frontal gyrus. Mothers who displayed more intrusive behaviors with their infant showed greater activation in the left anterior insula and temporal pole, while mothers who had more harmonious interactions with their infant displayed greater activation in left hippocampal regions. The roles of these areas in the regulation of maternal emotion and stress, self and other awareness, and empathy are examined.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| [56] |
During pregnancy, the mother must adapt her body systems to support nutrient and oxygen supply for growth of the baby in utero and during the subsequent lactation. These include changes in the cardiovascular, pulmonary, immune and metabolic systems of the mother. Failure to appropriately adjust maternal physiology to the pregnant state may result in pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes and abnormal birth weight, which can further lead to a range of medically significant complications for the mother and baby. The placenta, which forms the functional interface separating the maternal and fetal circulations, is important for mediating adaptations in maternal physiology. It secretes a plethora of hormones into the maternal circulation which modulate her physiology and transfers the oxygen and nutrients available to the fetus for growth. Among these placental hormones, the prolactin-growth hormone family, steroids and neuropeptides play critical roles in drivingmaternal physiological adaptations during pregnancy. This review examines the changes that occur in maternal physiology in response to pregnancy and the significance of placental hormone production in mediating such changes.
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| [57] |
This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between parental attachment, resilience, postpartum traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and maternal-infant bonding at 1 to 3 months postpartum. The mediation effect of resilience and PTSD on the postpartum parental attachment and maternal-infant bond was also evaluated.A cross-sectional research design was used.A total of 400 postpartum women examined at a tertiary hospital in Wuhan from January 2021 to June 2021 were enrolled in the study. At about 1 to 3 months after giving birth, the women were asked to complete the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), Connor-Davidson Resilience scale(CD-RISC), PTSD CheckList-Civilian version (PCL-C), and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). The data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Mediation analyse and the Spearman correlation (r) were used to correlate the resilience and PTSD questionnaire scores.The care attachment dimension was significantly associated with resilience (r = 0.24, p < 0.01), PTSD (r = - 0.27, p < 0.01), and maternal-infant bonding (r = 0.10, p < 0.01), and the overprotection attachment dimension was significantly associated with resilience (r = - 0.11, p < 0.01), PTSD (r = 0.33, p < 0.01), and maternal-infant bonding (r = 0.16, p < 0.01). Resilience and PTSD can mediate the relationship between attachment and maternal-infant bonding.Parental attachment, resilience, and PTSD significantly affect maternal-infant bonding at 1 to 3 months postpartum.This study demonstrated that new interventions aimed at addressing PTSD symptoms and improving resilience might increase parental attachment and maternal-infant bonding after birth. However, further research is required to evaluate the success of these interventions.© 2023. The Author(s).
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| [58] |
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| [59] |
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| [60] |
The current study compared the performances of pregnant women with education- and age-matched controls on a variety of measures that assessed perceptual speed, short-term and working memory capacity, subjective memory complaints, sleep quality, level of fatigue, executive functioning, episodic and prospective memory, and crystallized and fluid intelligence. A primary purpose was to test the hypothesis of Henry and Rendell (2007) that pregnancy-related declines in cognitive functioning would be especially evident in tasks that place a high demand on executive processes. We also investigated a parallel hypothesis: that the pregnant women would experience a broad-based reduction in cognitive capability. Very limited support was found for the executive functioning hypothesis. Pregnant women scored lower only on the measure of verbal fluency (Controlled Oral Word Association Test, COWAT) but not on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task or on any working memory measures. Furthermore, group differences in COWAT performance disappeared after controlling for verbal IQ (Shipley vocabulary). In addition, there was no support for the general decline hypothesis. We conclude that pregnancy-associated differences in performance observed in the current study were relatively mild and rarely reached either clinical or practical significance.
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| [61] |
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| [62] |
Pregnancy and the postpartum period are a time of maximal neural and behavioral plasticity. Recent work has shown that hippocampus-dependent learning and memory performance and hippocampus morphology are affected by motherhood and reproductive experience (number of times pregnant and given birth). Adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus is influenced by steroid hormones such as estradiol and corticosterone, which fluctuate during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Thus, it is possible that hippocampal neurogenesis may be affected by motherhood and reproductive experience. The present study aimed to investigate the role of reproductive experience on hippocampal neurogenesis via cell proliferation and cell survival and to determine whether differences were due to the effect of pregnancy and/or pup-exposure alone. Four groups of female Sprague-Dawley rats were used; multiparous, primiparous, nulliparous, and nulliparous rats exposed to pups. All rats were injected with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) (200 mg/kg) approximately 24 h after birth/pup-exposure with age-matched controls. Rats were perfused either 24 h (Expt. 1: Cell proliferation) or 21 days (Expt. 2: Cell survival) after BrdU injection. Results show there is a significant decrease in cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of primiparous and multiparous rats during the early postpartum period, and a decrease in cell survival in the dentate gyrus during the postpartum in primiparous rats, regardless of pup-exposure, compared with all other groups. In addition, brief pup exposure to nulliparous rats significantly increased cell proliferation and cell death in the dentate gyrus, while 22 days of pup exposure to nulliparous rats (sensitized rats) resulted in increased cell survival and cell death in the dentate gyrus. Collectively these results indicate that reproductive experience significantly affects hippocampal neurogenesis and that these effects are not due to the effect of pregnancy or pup-exposure alone.
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| [63] |
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| [64] |
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| [65] |
Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) are neuropeptides that govern the social-emotional functioning of humans. We contend that to fully understand their function, research should consider how they are flexibly fitted to maximize survival and reproduction given the variety of human experience. In a series of two studies, we show that early life stress is associated with change in the core function of OT and AVP in evolutionary predictable ways: Under high early life stress, AVP promotes threat-detection capabilities, whereas OT motivates non-selective proximity seeking to others. Conversely, under low early life stress these neuropeptides have an opposite, yet adaptive response: AVP promotes low vigilance and preservation of energy, whereas OT increases detection of interpersonal flaws. Our results demonstrate the plasticity of neuropeptide functioning that mirrors the variance in human social-emotional functioning.
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| [66] |
BACKGROUND
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| [67] |
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| [68] |
Although there is considerable anecdotal and empirical evidence showing that retrospective memory may be adversely affected during pregnancy and postpartum, it remains unclear whether capacity for prospective memory is also impaired. In Phase 1 of the present study 20 participants in their third trimester of pregnancy were compared with 20 nonpregnant matched controls on a laboratory measure of prospective memory that closely represents the types of prospective-memory tasks that actually occur in everyday life, in addition to a naturalistic time-logging prospective-memory task that was conducted over a period of 7 days as part of their day-to-day lives. In Phase 2, 15 of the pregnant women were retested on the time-logging task approximately 13 months after giving birth. The results indicated that although pregnancy was not associated with deficits on the laboratory measure of prospective memory, significant impairment was observed on the naturalistic measure. These preliminary data therefore provide the first empirical evidence showing that pregnancy may be associated with increased difficulty in implementing delayed intentions in everyday life.
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| [69] |
One of the functions of emotional vocalizations is the regulation of social relationships like those between adults and children. Listening to infant vocalizations is known to engage amygdala as well as anterior and posterior cingulate cortices. But, the functional relationships between these structures still need further clarification. Here, nonparental women and men listened to laughing and crying of preverbal infants and to vocalization-derived control stimuli, while performing a pure tone detection task during low-noise functional magnetic resonance imaging. Infant vocalizations elicited stronger activation in amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of women, whereas the alienated control stimuli elicited stronger activation in men. Independent of listeners' gender, auditory cortex (AC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were more strongly activated by the control stimuli than by infant laughing or crying. The gender-dependent correlates of neural activity in amygdala and ACC may reflect neural predispositions in women for responses to preverbal infant vocalizations, whereas the gender-independent similarity of activation patterns in PCC and AC may reflect more sensory-based and cognitive levels of neural processing. In comparison to our previous work on adult laughing and crying, the infant vocalizations elicited manifold higher amygdala activation.Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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| [70] |
Many mothers experience poor psychological outcomes during their perinatal period. The presence of depression and anxiety has a significant adverse impact on the mother's health and the infant's development.This review aimed to examine the effectiveness of peer support interventions in improving depression, anxiety, and perceived social support among mothers during the perinatal period.This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. The reporting of this review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020. Cochrane's Risk of Bias Tool for randomized controlled trials was used to examine the methodological quality of the included studies. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. A comprehensive search was conducted from inception till May 2024 across seven databases: Pubmed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, ProQuest, PsycINFO, and Embase.The results of the meta-analysis of the 12 included studies showed that peer support interventions could reduce depression and anxiety levels but not perceived social support levels. Sub-group analyses based on the mode of intervention delivery showed significant reductions on depression levels in online and face-to-face groups but not telephone call groups. Follow-up data analyses showed that peer support interventions could improve depression, anxiety, and perceived social support across a duration of 1-6 months post-intervention.This review provides a deeper understanding of the effect of peer support interventions on mothers in the perinatal period. This can have a positive impact on current knowledge aimed at improving the well-being of mothers and thus, their infants, partners, and entire family unit. Findings showed that peer support interventions can positively improve psychological well-being of mothers in the perinatal period in the short and long term. Peer support can ultimately be considered as a standardized part of perinatal care. Future recommendations include implementing a combination of face-to-face and online approaches to peer support interventions delivered with both individual and group components.© 2024 Sigma Theta Tau International.
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| [71] |
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| [72] |
17-Beta-estradiol (E2) stimulates neural plasticity and dopaminergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex, which is critically involved in attentional control, working memory, and other executive functions. Studies investigating E2's actions on prefrontally mediated behavior in the course of the menstrual cycle or during hormone replacement therapy are inconclusive, with numerous null findings as well as beneficial and detrimental effects. The current study focused on the effect of E2 on attentional performance, as animal studies indicate that supraphysiological doses (i.e., above estrous cycle levels) of E2 have beneficial effects on measures of attention in female rodents. To translate these findings to humans, we administered 12 mg E2-valerate or placebo orally to 34 naturally cycling women in the low-hormone early follicular phase using a randomized, double-blinded, pre-post design. Behavioral performance was tested twice during baseline and E2 peak, where E2 levels reached mildly supraphysiological levels in the E2 group. Aside from mainly prefrontally mediated tasks of attention, working memory, and other executive functions, we employed tasks of affectively modulated attention, emotion recognition, and verbal memory. E2 administration had a significant, but subtle negative impact on general processing speed and working memory performance. These effects could be related to an overstimulation of dopaminergic transmission. The negative effect of supraphysiological E2 on working memory connects well to animal literature. There were no effects on attentional performance or any other measure. This could be explained by different E2 levels being optimal for changing behavioral performance in specific tasks, which likely depends on the brain regions involved.
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| [73] |
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| [74] |
Oxytocin is an essential hormone for mammalian labor and lactation. Here, we show a new function of oxytocin in causing plastic changes in hippocampal synapses during motherhood. In oxytocin-perfused hippocampal slices, one-train tetanus stimulation induced long-lasting, long-term potentiation (L-LTP) and phosphorylation of cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB), and MAP kinase inhibitors blocked these inductions. An increase in CREB phosphorylation and L-LTP induced by one-train tetanus were observed in the multiparous mouse hippocampus without oxytocin application. Furthermore, intracerebroventricular injection of oxytocin in virgin mice improved long-term spatial learning in vivo, whereas an injection of oxytocin antagonist in multiparous mice significantly inhibited the improved spatial memory, L-LTP and CREB phosphorylation. These findings indicate that oxytocin is critically involved in improving hippocampus-dependent learning and memory during motherhood in mice.
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| [75] |
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| [76] |
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| [77] |
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| [78] |
Dynamic signaling between the endocrine system (ES) and the nervous system (NS) is essential for brain and body homeostasis. In particular, reciprocal interaction occurs during pregnancy and motherhood that may involve changes in some brain plasticity processes. Prolactin (PRL), a hormone with pleiotropic effects on the NS, promotes maternal behavior and has been linked to modifications in brain circuits during motherhood; however, it is unclear whether PRL may regulate synaptic plasticity. Therefore, the main aim of the present work was to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms triggered by PRL that regulate synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. By analyzing extracellular recordings in CA3-CA1 synapses of hippocampal slices, we report that PRL modifies short and long-term synaptic plasticity in female mice of reproductive age, but not in sexually immature females or adult males. This effect is carried out through mechanisms that include participation of GABA receptors and activation of the JAK2-mediated signaling pathway. These findings show for the first time how PRL enhances the synaptic strength in hippocampal circuits and that this effect is sexually dimorphic, which would influence complex brain processes in physiological conditions like pregnancy and lactation.© 2020 The Authors. Hippocampus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
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