Nature Communications (Nov 2022)

Mapping the effects of pregnancy on resting state brain activity, white matter microstructure, neural metabolite concentrations and grey matter architecture

  • Elseline Hoekzema,
  • Henk van Steenbergen,
  • Milou Straathof,
  • Arlette Beekmans,
  • Inga Marie Freund,
  • Petra J. W. Pouwels,
  • Eveline A. Crone

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33884-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 17

Abstract

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Animal studies have shown that pregnancy is associated with unique changes in the mammalian brain and behaviour, although pregnancy-associated changes in the human brain are less well studied. Here the authors show that pregnancy is associated with changes in resting state brain activity and brain anatomy which are most pronounced in the default mode network.