Prior research has found that certain female hormones such as oestradial and progesterone significantly increase the number of dendritic spines in the brain. Dendrites
are what neurons use to reach out and connect with each other—so the
more dendrites, the higher possibility of neural connections. Because
these dendrite-enriching female hormones surge and stay high during
pregnancy, researchers from the University of Richmond hoped to find
significant differences in the brains of maternal rats.
In this 1999 study from the journal Nature, maternal rats were almost three times as fast
at navigating to the food reward when put through a maze test. Maternal
rats took only 43.2 seconds, compared to 128 seconds among non-maternal
females. Researchers postulate that maternal rats had brains better adapted to the task of navigation because of its import role in supporting young—in this case, locating and securing food resources.Here is the actual article
Motherhood improves learning and memory
Neural activity in rats is enhanced by pregnancy and the demands of rearing offspring.
When a female mammal makes the transition from virginity
to motherhood, she is forced to refocus her activities dramatically.
She must adapt to a multitude of new demands by her offspring or risk
losing a significant metabolic and genetic investment.
This one made me chuckle a little. Maybe the maternal rat found the food faster because she was hungry and pg. Just my thought. Anyway, this article is good news for me, hoping for another baby someday, maybe I'll get brain recovery too!
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