Scientists Show How Pregnancy Changes the Brain in Innumerable Ways

September 16, 2024

picture of a pregnant woman's baby bump

(ABC News) – Neuroscientist Liz Chrastil got the unique chance to see how her brain changed while she was pregnant and share what she learned in a new study that offers the first detailed map of a woman’s brain throughout gestation. The transition to motherhood, researchers discovered, affects nearly every part of the brain.

Although the study looks at only one person, it kicks off a large, international research project that aims to scan the brains of hundreds of women and could one day provide clues about disorders like postpartum depression. (Read More)