Dopamine drives persistent remodelling of the maternal brain

Main Matrescence—the physical, emotional, hormonal and social transition to motherhood—is a period of profound transformation that reshapes the maternal body and brain to support pregnancy, birth and offspring care.

Dopamine drives persistent remodelling of the maternal brain. Main Matrescence—the physical, emotional, hormonal and social transition to motherhood—is a period of profound transformation that reshapes the maternal body and brain to support pregnancy, birth and offspring care. Although extensive research has focused on acute maternal brain processes that are essential for the onset and maintenance of parenting, precisely how brain adaptations are sustained beyond the postpartum period to persistently influence behaviour remains unclear. Recent human neuroimaging studies have revealed that parity—encompassing prior pregnancies carried to term across diverse modes of conception, delivery and infant feeding—induces long-lasting alterations in brain connectivity and structure, persisting for years or even decades following birth 1 , 2 , 3 , 4...