A recent study revealed that expectant mothers who usually complain about brain fog may be common due to a biological phenomenon behind it.
As per study published in the journal Nature Communications, which showed that grey matter volume in the brain, the part of the brain involved in processing information, emotions, and empathy, is reduced by 5% during gestational period.
Researchers in Spain from the BeMother project found that the reduction in grey matter is essential to assisting mothers care for their newborns better.
Lead researcher Prof Susana Carmona, stated, “I like to use the metaphor of pruning a tree. Some of the branches are cut to make it grow more efficiently.”
For the study, scientists scanned brains of 127 pregnant women from Madrid and Barcelona during and after pregnancy, at different time intervals, specifically, before conception, at the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, one month after birth and six months following birth.
The scans were later compared to 32 women who were not pregnant.
In a shocking discovery, women nearly lost an average of 5% of grey matter, which affects 94% of the brain, particularly regions associated with social cognition.
Scientists also gathered saliva and urine samples of participants on five occasions to track the increasing oestrogen levels with the reduction in grey matter.
Notably, the shed grey matter partially returned six months after giving birth.
The authors wrote, “This positive association suggests that the brain remodeling experienced by gestational mothers might be adaptive, facilitating facets of maternal behaviour.”
The research discovered that the mother’s general well-being mediates over 50% of the relationship between grey matter volume recovery and attachment at six months postpartum.
