A recent study shows that there is truth to the statement that pregnancy causes changes in the brain. A study done on mice indicated that hormone changes during pregnancy affect brain circuits involved in parenting. The study also showed that female mice are not born with natural mothers, and are not really interested in babies or caring for them until they mate. Female rats that have not yet mated do not show interest in pups belonging to other female rats, or they only show a low level of instinct.
However, when they become pregnant, the hormones that accompany their pregnancy cause changes in the neural networks of the brain associated with taking good care of their children. The biggest innovation in these circuits is making them highly responsive to both the sounds and smells of the baby mice. Neurons also form some new connections, so parenting circuits are more streamlined and function more efficiently during and after pregnancy.
Experimentation showed that activating the same hormonal receptors in mice that had not yet mated caused them to start behaving like mothers, but turning off the activation in mice with pups means they will no longer try to feed or care for them. This is a strong indication that pregnancy does indeed change the way the brain is wired, and that helps prepare the mice to care for their young, and to want to provide that care.
The human brain is more complex than a rat’s brain, of course, and people also observe parenting behaviors and experience them long before they have children of their own. However, most pregnant women will say that their brains haven’t been the same since they had children, and it’s quite possible that they’re right on a genetic and hormonal level.
More studies are needed, including further consideration of whether fathers experience changes in their brains when they have children. Previous studies have indicated that fathers have a drop in testosterone after the birth of their children, which may cause them to settle for the role of parenting.
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