Introducing the brain: profound changes in pregnancy (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 17:16 (77 days ago) @ David Turell

First thorough study:

https://www.sciencealert.com/profound-brain-changes-of-pregnancy-revealed-in-scientific...

"The breakthrough is based on the neurological changes of one first-time mother, who had snapshots of her brain taken before, during, and after pregnancy.

"As the pregnancy advanced, researchers noticed a widespread shrinking of gray matter, which is the brain tissue that includes the bodies of neurons.

"While shrinking parts of the brain might sound scary, these changes are probably for the best. They may reflect a re-wiring of the brain's finite tissue for motherhood.

"Researchers found the links between neurons, which make up white matter, had increased their connectivity in the final two trimesters of pregnancy.

"When neuronal circuits are fine-tuned for whatever reason, gray matter tends to be pruned back while white matter connections increase, allowing information to travel around the brain more efficiently.

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"'We've never witnessed the brain in the midst of this metamorphosis," Jacobs said in a press briefing.

"We were able to observe sweeping changes in gray matter volume, cortical thickness, white matter microstructure, and ventricle volume as it all unfolded week by week."

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"To date, barely 2 percent of neuroimaging studies mention sex hormones as influencing factors, even though the few papers that are published suggest there is a statistically significant association between sex steroids and changes in the brain.

"In 2024, for instance, researchers documented in detail the structural changes that take place in the brain as hormones change during menstruation.

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"During pregnancy, over 80 percent of the brain regions that neuroscientists examined showed reductions in gray matter of about 4 percent, on average, although everything returned to normal at the end of the pregnancy. That's about the same magnitude of change observed during puberty, the authors say.

"How these brain changes relate to behavioral changes is unknown. All we have at the moment are animal studies to point to, and the majority of these are conducted on male brains.

"In pregnant rodents, some studies have found a surge in estrogen and progesterone reprograms brain circuits like the hypothalamus, which enhances a mother's sensitivity to the smells and sounds of her newborn pups.

"Perhaps something similar is happening in humans, although our physiology is more complex, and the findings among rodents may not relate."

Comment: this process presents an interesting question. It is purposeful preparation for a future event, caring for a newborn. Chance evolution, as Darwin proposed can't possibly produce this result. Only a designing mind could.