Motherhood changes the brain for the better
Scientists at the University of Richmond (Virginia), working under the guidance of Professor Craig Kinsley, argue that the birth of a child makes significant adjustments to the behavior of female mammals. The abilities acquired in this case are related to the mother's ability to take care of the offspring and protect it.
Experiments have shown that, compared with young females without offspring, rats with newborn cubs demonstrate better memory and ability to get out of the maze and, at the same time, lower susceptibility to stress and fear. Protecting their cubs, they are ready to fight with predators that are twice their size. In addition, mothers are much more agile when catching prey (in the experiment, crickets), which allows them to provide their young with food.
As a result of observation of female rats until they reach the age of 26 months (which in humans corresponds to almost 90 years), the authors concluded that changes in behavior caused by motherhood persist throughout life.
According to Kinsley, the observed behavioral changes are associated with significant hormonal changes occurring in the female body during pregnancy and lactation. They cause obvious changes in the brain, especially in the hippocampus – the structure responsible for storing new information and long-term memory.
Motherhood is a series of tasks that require new skills, and it has long been known that any training changes the brain. In the process of learning, neurons form new connections that represent the display of new life experiences in the brain.
Scientists tracked these changes by assessing brain activity, especially the hippocampus, using a number of techniques, including analyzing differences in gene expression. They concluded that the birth of a child makes the mother's brain more plastic, which provides a better response to the demands of survival.
The authors, who are currently engaged in a detailed study of the identified mechanisms, believe that their discovery has a certain practical significance for human society. As one of the possible options for its use, they propose to identify women in whose brain, at the time of the first communication with the child, there is a deficiency of a critical neuro-regulator, for example, the hormone oxytocin, and timely administer a dose of this compound to them. They believe that in cases where this is required, such measures will help improve the quality of motherhood.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on ABC materials
24.03.2008