Our new article “Pregnancy entails a U-shaped trajectory in human brain structure” has been published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.
Key findings include:
- During the first pregnancy, the brain loses up to 4.9% of gray matter volume, with partial recovery during postpartum.
- These changes affect 94% of the brain, especially regions linked to social cognition.
- For the first time, we demonstrated that estrogen fluctuations during pregnancy are linked to these changes and their subsequent recovery.
- Women with better gray matter recovery postpartum reported a stronger emotional bond with their baby at six months.
Aquestes troballes confirmen que els canvis cerebrals durant l’embaràs estan més relacionats amb el procés biològic de gestació que no pas amb l’experiència de ser mare.
🔗 Access the full article here: Link to the article
Servin-Barthet, C., Martínez-García, M., Paternina-Die, M. et al. Pregnancy entails a U-shaped trajectory in human brain structure linked to hormones and maternal attachment. Nat Commun 16, 730 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55830-0
