Document Detail


Giving birth to a new brain: hormone exposures of pregnancy influence human memory.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20304563     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Mammalian pregnancy produces alterations in maternal physiology that are necessary for maintaining gestation, fetal development and parturition. These changes also may prepare the maternal brain for the unique demands of motherhood. Parous rodents exhibit long-term changes in neurological structure and function and human work suggests that other landmark events in the reproductive cycle, such as menarche and menopause, influence cognition. However, the influence of pregnancy on the human brain remains to be elucidated. This study indicates that verbal recall memory (but not recognition or working memory) diminishes during human pregnancy and that these decrements persist after parturition. Further, prenatal glucocorticoids and estrogen are associated with these alterations. To meet the challenges of motherhood, the female brain may be remodeled, a process that appears to be initiated prenatally. However, it is not often that adaptation is achieved without an associated cost. For the human, in the case of the new maternal brain, diminished memory performance may reflect such a cost.
Authors:
Laura M Glynn
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural     Date:  2010-03-21
Journal Detail:
Title:  Psychoneuroendocrinology     Volume:  35     ISSN:  1873-3360     ISO Abbreviation:  Psychoneuroendocrinology     Publication Date:  2010 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-08-16     Completed Date:  2010-12-14     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7612148     Medline TA:  Psychoneuroendocrinology     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1148-55     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA. lglynn@chapman.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Brain / drug effects*,  physiology*
Female
Hormones / blood,  metabolism,  pharmacology*
Humans
Memory / drug effects*,  physiology
Mental Recall
Neuronal Plasticity / drug effects,  physiology
Parturition / physiology*
Pattern Recognition, Visual / physiology
Postpartum Period / physiology,  psychology
Pregnancy
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
5M01RR 00827-29/RR/NCRR NIH HHS; R01 HD-40967/HD/NICHD NIH HHS
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Hormones

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