Agustín Ballesteros

TL;DR: Pregnancy renders substantial changes in brain structure, primarily reductions in gray matter (GM) volume in regions subserving social cognition, providing the first evidence that pregnancy confers long-lasting changes in a woman's brain.

TL;DR: Structural and functional neuroimaging data from a unique pre-conception prospective cohort study involving first-time mothers investigated before and after their pregnancy as well as nulliparous control women scanned at similar time intervals provide the first indications that the transition to motherhood renders anatomical adaptations in the VStr that promote the strong responsiveness of a mother's reward circuit to cues of her infant.

TL;DR: The findings are consistent with the notion that the brain morphometric changes associated with pregnancy and adolescence reflect similar hormonally primed biological processes.

TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that most of the pregnancy-induced gray matter volume reductions persist six years after parturition (classifying women as having been pregnant or not with 91.67% of total accuracy) and brain changes at six years postpartum are associated with measures of mother-to-infant attachment.

TL;DR: This is the first study showing preconception-to-postpartum neuroanatomical adaptations in first-time fathers associated with the father’s brain response to cues of his infant, indicating a significant reduction in cortical volume and thickness of the precuneus.