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Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Profiling Maternal Behavior Responses During Whole-Brain Imaging
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Less can be more: Fine tuning the maternal brain.

Jodi L Pawluski1, Elseline Hoekzema2, Benedetta Leuner3

  • 1Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail), UMR_S 1085, F-35000, Rennes, France.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|December 5, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Motherhood triggers significant brain plasticity, often involving a decrease in volume and cell density to optimize maternal behaviors. This

Keywords:
Brain imagingCortexGliaHippocampusMaternal behaviorMaternal brainMotherhoodNeurogenesisNeuroimmunologyNeuroplasticityPostpartumPregnancy

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Biology
  • Reproductive Science

Background:

  • The female brain exhibits significant plasticity throughout life, with the transition to motherhood inducing profound changes.
  • Maternal brain plasticity is crucial for adapting to the demands of offspring care.
  • Recent research highlights that 'less can be more' in maternal brain adaptations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the 'fine-tuning' of the female brain during matrescence (the process of becoming a mother).
  • To summarize structural and functional brain changes in humans and animal models during the peripartum period.
  • To explore the implications of these neuroplastic changes for maternal neurobehavioral health.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review synthesizing findings from human and animal studies on maternal brain plasticity.
  • Analysis of structural and functional brain alterations during pregnancy and postpartum.
  • Examination of neural and glial plasticity in the peripartum period using animal models.

Main Results:

  • Maternal brain plasticity involves a reduction in brain volume, neurogenesis, and glial cell density.
  • These changes are hypothesized to optimize maternal caregiving and postpartum behaviors.
  • Both humans and animal models show significant neural adaptations during the peripartum period.

Conclusions:

  • The concept of 'less is more' is central to understanding maternal brain plasticity.
  • Reduced brain volume and cell density are adaptive mechanisms for efficient maternal behavior.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complexities of maternal brain plasticity and its impact on neurobehavioral health.