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Differences in navigation performance and postpartal striatal volume associated with pregnancy in humans
Nina Lisofsky1, Jan Wiener2, Olivier de Condappa2
1Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
|September 11, 2016
Summary
Pregnancy may alter brain structure, impacting navigation strategies. Pregnant women showed poorer egocentric navigation and reduced left striatal volume compared to controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Estrogen influences navigation strategies in animals, favoring allocentric over egocentric approaches.
- Human studies on hormonal shifts and navigation strategies are limited, particularly during pregnancy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of human pregnancy on navigation strategies and associated gray matter volume.
- To compare allocentric and egocentric navigation performance and striatal volume in peripartal women versus controls.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study comparing 30 peripartal women with an age-matched control group.
- Navigation performance (allocentric vs. egocentric) and gray matter volume (putamen) were assessed.
Main Results:
- Pregnant women exhibited poorer performance in egocentric navigation tasks compared to controls.
- A smaller left striatal volume (putamen) was observed in peripartal women.
- Left striatal volume correlated with better egocentric navigation performance across both groups.
Conclusions:
- Human pregnancy may be associated with structural brain changes in navigation-related neural systems.
- These changes might lead to alterations in navigation strategy use during pregnancy.
