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Plasticity of the Maternal Brain

V

violaine

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@Njinte posted a link regarding "Mommy Brain" in a now closed thread. It didn't seem like a complete picture to me of what happens to the brains of new mothers. It doesn't make sense to me that a woman would lose her ability to think at the outset of the long, demanding role of raising long-dependent offspring. The article posted mentioned that sleep deprivation couldn't be ruled out as a likely cause of any degradation in cognitive abilities.

Still, seemed like a simplistic analysis. I wondered if mothers' brains were tasked with something else. (e.g. I feel more "primal", as in, don't ever fuck with my child or I will have you hunted down and hurt. *not joking* I never even used to support the death penalty).

Further to Njinte's link, here are some more articles discussing research that show a mother's brain likely actually grows. It's selective growth. Gray matter apparently increases in small but significant amounts. Though the ability to multitask may be affected. (That makes sense to me in that it's advantageous to mother, child and society for a child to take priority and form a strong emotional bond with her/his mother). It's about having different priorities and ensuring the survival of offspring, one's genes.

"From an evolutionary standpoint, a mother is faced with a really significant challenge," Kinsley said. "She had to do everything she did before, plus a whole new suite of behaviors to keep her offspring alive. How females evolved in nature is to have their brains adapt in pregnancy, so that their young enhance their behaviors.". From this article, also linked below.


http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/10/mommy-brain.aspx
http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/mommy-brain-maternal-changes.htm
http://www.livemom.com/2012/06/26/fuzzy-fried-or-fierce-perspectives-on-mommy-brain/
 

Coriolis

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@Njinte posted a link regarding "Mommy Brain" in a now closed thread. It didn't seem like a complete picture to me of what happens to the brains of new mothers. It doesn't make sense to me that a woman would lose her ability to think at the outset of the long, demanding role of raising long-dependent offspring. The article posted mentioned that sleep deprivation couldn't be ruled out as a likely cause of any degradation in cognitive abilities.

Still, seemed like a simplistic analysis.
Indeed. Having a child is a momentous, lifechanging event. Perhaps any such event affects one's memory and mental functioning, at least until it can be absorbed and integrated into one's life. Has anyone examined the brains of new fathers, or people who lost a close loved one, or were told they had cancer, or even had a major change of job?
 

Totenkindly

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I haven't verified this, but I've heard it stated that male testosterone levels in the father drop when the mother gives birth -- probably a pheromones thing that triggers it (?). This makes it more likely for him to stay around.

I don't think it's rocket science to imagine the human body and brain reprioritizing to better handle the needs of a particular situation. It doesn't have to be a drastic change, it's just a reshifting of the levers and sliders to reconfigure a parent (in this thread, the mom) in a way that will contribute further to survival of the infant.

It's not an outrageous idea at all. And i think one of the most obvious strengths of humans is adapatability. We are very malleable and take a lot of imprinting from our environment especially when young, as compared to some other species that are more instinctive.
 

INTP

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i remember reading some study some time ago that women who have boy child will have an increase in their testosterone levels and that might have some long term effect(i dont remember if the testosterone level increased for good and that made the long term effect or if it was just the fact that testosterone increasing during pregnancy had some long term effects).
 

Totenkindly

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i remember reading some study some time ago that women who have boy child will have an increase in their testosterone levels and that might have some long term effect(i dont remember if the testosterone level increased for good and that made the long term effect or if it was just the fact that testosterone increasing during pregnancy had some long term effects).

Actually, there's a pattern with male children who identify as gay to have older brothers, and it's assumed that the interplay of estrogen from the mom and the testosterone of the prior male children changes the womb environment in some way that will contribute to priming a gay male baby.
 
V

violaine

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My contribution to this thread will be at a stately pace. Oh to be able to see and map the impact of major life events [MENTION=9811]Coriolis[/MENTION]. (I have an acquaintance who works with mapping the brains of rats and her research is fascinating). I read a pretty popular book about neural plasticity called "The Brain that Changes Itself" that is fascinating in respect of the way the brain can "reroute" functions after physical damage to parts of the brain as occurs during strokes. Old news, but still.

[MENTION=7]Jennifer[/MENTION], I did read some interesting research about changes in testosterone levels of new fathers. As you suppose, it is apparently so they will stay to help rear the child. Human males are unusual in that respect in that they are one of the few male mammals to help with child rearing. And they likely don't have to compete with other males for mates anymore. Off on my own unsupported tangent here, but I also wonder if the drop functions as a way for the newborn child to become the focus for long enough that a bond is established (and therefore the child will be taken care of), before another child would likely be conceived.
 

Salomé

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OP refers to a link that OP neglects to post. Perhaps OP forgot.
Here it is: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/baby-brain-gets-the-official-nod/2008/02/05/1202090421354.html
Credit: @Njinte

So it's official: in addition to fucking up your body, your sex life, your social life and your career, pregnancy also fucks up your brain?
:sadbanana:
Why do people do this stuff again?
Oh yeah. That ticking clock...
Biology is a cruel mistress indeed. Particularly cruel to females it seems, then again, testosterone produces a near-permanent "brain fog" all of it's own...

Thankfully, as a genderless INTP freak I don't have to contend with these problems.

I have though, observed massive changes in the behaviour and cognitive abilities of broody hens. They become very territorial, more aggressive and vocal and also kinda ...fucked in the head - they forget to eat and drink, stop taking care of themselves, lose their place in the pecking order, get fixated on their nests and go into a sort of catatonic trance, which, I suppose, is a mercy given how boring it must be to sit in the nest all day every day. All this must be mediated by hormones, they do it with or without actual chicks or even eggs.
It's sad to watch. I wish someone would come up with an antidote already.
 

Coriolis

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So it's official: in addition to fucking up your body, your sex life, your social life and your career, pregnancy also fucks up your brain?
:sadbanana:
Why do people do this stuff again?
Oh yeah. That ticking clock...
Biology is a cruel mistress indeed. Particularly cruel to females it seems, then again, testosterone produces a near-permanent "brain fog" all of it's own...

Thankfully, as a genderless INTP freak I don't have to contend with these problems.

I have though, observed massive changes in the behaviour and cognitive abilities of broody hens. They become very territorial, more aggressive and vocal and also kinda ...fucked in the head - they forget to eat and drink, stop taking care of themselves, lose their place in the pecking order, get fixated on their nests and go into a sort of catatonic trance, which, I suppose, is a mercy given how boring it must be to sit in the nest all day every day. All this must be mediated by hormones, they do it with or without actual chicks or even eggs.
It's sad to watch. I wish someone would come up with an antidote already.
Indeed. What is truly sad is that most of it is unnecessary and avoidable. One must want to avoid it, however.
 

Salomé

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Indeed. What is truly sad is that most of it is unnecessary and avoidable. One must want to avoid it, however.

It's a little necessary. Someone has to fire out those sprogs that will pay for our pensions, after all. :wink:
 

gromit

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UGH... friends having newborn babies is such good incentive to me NOT to have a baby myself. Although friends with toddlers and older make it seem like less of a bad deal.

I would be curious of effects separate from those of extended sleep deprivation.
 
V

violaine

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OP refers to a link that OP neglects to post. Perhaps OP forgot.
Here it is: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/baby-brain-gets-the-official-nod/2008/02/05/1202090421354.html
Credit: @Njinte

So it's official: in addition to fucking up your body, your sex life, your social life and your career, pregnancy also fucks up your brain?
:sadbanana:
Why do people do this stuff again?
Oh yeah. That ticking clock...
Biology is a cruel mistress indeed. Particularly cruel to females it seems, then again, testosterone produces a near-permanent "brain fog" all of it's own...

Thankfully, as a genderless INTP freak I don't have to contend with these problems.

I have though, observed massive changes in the behaviour and cognitive abilities of broody hens. They become very territorial, more aggressive and vocal and also kinda ...fucked in the head - they forget to eat and drink, stop taking care of themselves, lose their place in the pecking order, get fixated on their nests and go into a sort of catatonic trance, which, I suppose, is a mercy given how boring it must be to sit in the nest all day every day. All this must be mediated by hormones, they do it with or without actual chicks or even eggs.
It's sad to watch. I wish someone would come up with an antidote already.

I'm flattered you're following me around the board. Thanks for having my back, but that outdated research wasn't the thrust of my OP, so I didn't bother with it. Hence the phrase, "Further to Nijinte's link".

I suppose you'll be very happy for me then to know that I have a nanny and am a free bird whenever I want to be. :). Edit: Though I happily spend most of my time with my babies.

We all know you were probably a self-hating embryo, so your view on spawning comes as no surprise. Although, there was this once:

There's little doubt that my offspring would be awesome. :cool:

I'd seriously consider being an egg donor. But beyond that, evolution can kiss my ass. (goodbye)

What, no takers?

I guess evolution can kiss my ass hello. :bananallama:
 

Ivy

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I'm just going to warn the two of you once not to continue the hostility on the forum, veiled or open or otherwise.
 

cafe

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I wonder if other situations in which you are rapidly developing a new skill set under duress has the same effect.
 

Tiltyred

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Or, y'know, the trauma of expelling an 8 pound object or two from a bodily orifice.
 
V

violaine

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The research I linked states that motherhood may cause the brain to grow, not turn to mush as the old stereotype would have people believe. I'm thinking that sleep deprivation may be the most likely cause of any fuzziness in thinking ability in new parents. (Not just mothers). The ability to multitask may be something that's affected negatively by new motherhood though, for a little while. But the parts of the brain involved in organizing and planning are thought to eventually get a boost. Amongst other regions.
 

Tiltyred

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Well, yeah -- that, too. I'm just sayin', I don't think you have to look too far for reasons! Any number of them leap immediately to mind. You can't underestimate the effect of various endocrine upsets, either.
 

cafe

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My husband and I usually both got the fuzzy part pretty badly and it generally passed around month three. My brain was also wonky during pregnancy, but I also felt shitty and exhausted for most of the time I was gestating, so that likely didn't help.

I wasn't aware of the brain growth thing, but it makes sense that it would see some growth since you are, in effect acquiring and incorporating a lot of new skills and behaviors.

It would be interesting to know if the addition of weird hormones or some other factor contributes to it or if it just happens when you are in a situation that requires a lot from you suddenly and with little wiggle room. Like, it might be similar for soldiers in combat . . . although that seems like it would be a lot worse plus more traumatic but I'm not coming up with a better comparison right off the top of my head. I'm sure there are better ones.

For me most of the difficult part of parenting was over around the time the youngest got to second grade. It's probably a little earlier when one's kids are neurotypical, I'd think. Unless you are doing the helicopter parenting thing, which I'm not.

Edit: I think your brain kind of glosses over the childbirth thing or something after it's over. I don't think there would be very many second children if it didn't.
 

Coriolis

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I suppose you'll be very happy for me then to know that I have a nanny and am a free bird whenever I want to be. :). Edit: Though I happily spend most of my time with my babies.
And what about your husband? Does he need a nanny to be a "free bird"?
 
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