Pregnancy, Nursing May Enhance Women’s Brains
                            A hormone released during pregnancy and
nursing appears to
                      greatly enrich areas of the brain involved in
memory and learning, animal
                      studies show.
                            Neuroscientists at the University of
                      Richmond and Randolph Macon College in
                      Virginia found that the number of dendrites,
                      special brain cell structures needed for
                      communication between brain cells,
                      doubled in pregnant and nursing laboratory
                      mice.
                            Researchers also found the number of the
brain's glial cells, which
                      serve as communication channels, also doubled.
                            Pregnant mice proved to be bolder, more
curious and energetic, the
                      study showed. They learned mazes more quickly,
made fewer mistakes
                      and retained the knowledge longer, researchers
say.
                            "In a way, the brain of a late-pregnant
female resembles a toy
                      factory at Christmastime, receiving orders and
gearing up for the
                      increased demands about to be placed on it,"
researcher Craig Kinsley,
                      a Richmond neuropsychologist, told The Los Angeles
Times.
                            These findings contradict another study from
the University of
                      Southern California that showed pregnant women
performed poorly on
                      cognitive tests.
                            These findings were presented this week at
the Society for
                      Neuroscience meeting in Los Angeles.

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Cindy Curtis , RN, IBCLC  ~ Virginia , USA
ICQ # 412812          mailto:[log in to unmask]
Benefits of Breastfeeding Home Page http://www.erols.com/cindyrn