There is an interesting article in today's Boston Globe on research  
indicating and pregnancy and birth (maby bf too, we don't know yet)  
sharpen brains of mothers (animals so far, people research is  
coming). Counters directly the "jello brain" image of pregnant women  
and new mothers. Many of us knew this from our work and personal  
experience, but it's nice to see research catching up.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/10/31/ 
giving_birth_to_a_better_brain_do_babies_sharpen_parents_minds/

Naomi Bar-Yam


Giving birth to a better brain: Do babies sharpen parents' minds?
By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff  |  October 31, 2005

Women with small children have long been saddled with an unflattering  
stereotype -- incompetent, dull-witted, frazzled, and preoccupied  
with domestic affairs. The derogatory cliches vary, from ''maternal  
amnesia" in medical circles, to the colloquial ''placenta brain" in  
the United States and ''porridge brain" in Great Britain. But a new  
body of research -- so far still mostly in animals -- is fueling the  
idea that motherhood may actually rewire the brain, making mothers  
(and involved fathers) more perceptive, competitive, efficient, and  
even socially aware. And sociological studies suggest that most of  
the symptoms of ''mommy brain" may be due as much to exhaustion and  
stress as biology.

Comparing the brain of a non-mother to that of a mother is ''like  
comparing a tree in the winter to one in full bloom in the spring,  
when it is much fuller and richer," said University of Richmond  
neuroscientist Craig Kinsley, a leading researcher in the field.

The transforming experiences of pregnancy, labor, and caring for  
small children ''enables the brain to process information much  
differently than it did before," he said.

Kinsley and other researchers have found that beginning a few weeks  
after giving birth, a female rat's cognitive abilities --  
particularly smell and visual perception -- start to expand. Rats  
nursing a litter of pups discover and catch prey three times as  
quickly as virgin rats, he said.

Kinsley's analysis of brain tissue from rats in late pregnancy showed  
that neural pathways in the hippocampus, the center of learning and  
memory, were essentially ''remapped."

The changes, Kinsley and others said, probably come partly from the  
experience of pregnancy and labor, when elevated levels of estrogen,  
cortisol, and other hormones literally bathe the brain. The presence  
of pups and the demands of caring for them also contributes to brain  
changes in mother rats -- even caretaker rats who have never been  
pregnant. In repeated studies, mother rats with pups have proven to  
be bolder and quicker at finding hidden food.

''We believe the pups are having an effect on the mother, enhancing  
her efficiency," Kinsley said. ''The pups have a paw in their own  
survival. The mom isn't a passive caregiver. Rather, absorbing  
sensory information from the pups has an influence on her brain."

The phenomenon hasn't yet been studied in women, but the rodent  
studies have important implications for humans, said Kelly Lambert,  
chair of the psychology department at Randolph Macon College in  
Virginia.

''Rodents have all the same brain parts we have," she said. ''Human  
brains are thicker and more complex, but as a model it's a very  
reasonable place to start."

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Katherine Ellison made worldwide  
headlines earlier this year with her new book, ''The Mommy Brain: How  
Motherhood Makes Us Smarter," which looks at the experience of  
mothers in the context of new advances in brain research.

Ellison delayed motherhood until age 37 for fear it would doom her  
intellectual life. But two babies later, she actually felt more  
efficient and ''smarter" than ever.

''Although I'd had newspaper deadlines before, never had I been  
responsible for deadlines involving other people's lives and I found  
that duty made me more alert and focused," she wrote. ''I had many  
more reasons to worry, yet to my surprise, I felt calmer. And I kept  
running into other mothers who felt the same way."

But the news hasn't reached many pregnant and post-partum women, who  
often too-willingly buy into the ''Jello-brain" stereotype.

In effect, this creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, said Ohio  
University neuropsychologist Julie Suhr.

Women in their third trimester, who were told they were being tested  
to see how the pregnancy had affected their memory and performance,  
scored significantly lower than equally pregnant women who were given  
the tasks without explanation. The pregnant women were clearly  
affected by the negative stereotypes about their brains, Suhr's  
students found.

``In essence, it shows that we can talk ourselves in and out of  
things," Suhr said. ''They performed badly if they thought they would."

Lack of sleep, the absence of adult companionship, and a shortage of  
time for exercise and relaxation can also make all parents -- men and  
women -- feel duller than they really are, Suhr said.

New fathers escape the brunt of maternal prejudices. But research in  
mice suggests they may still enjoy some of the same brain boosts of  
parenthood, as well as some of the biochemical changes exhibited by  
females.

Kinsley and Lambert found that father mice and marmosets performed  
better than non-parents at tests of foraging and remembering the  
location of hidden Froot Loops. And like mother rats, father rats  
experience growth in brain cells after fathering pups, albeit much  
smaller growth.

In the past five years, research into ''Daddy brains" has revealed  
expectant fathers experience the similar, smaller spikes in prolactin  
and estrogen levels well-documented in pregnant women.

Maternal brain research in animals has so far focused largely on  
cognitive tasks directly related to mothering, like foraging for food  
and seeking out shelter.

But some researchers say it isn't unreasonable to think that  
increased learning, performance, and efficiency could extend to other  
aspects of human life, including the workplace.

In a study of women and leadership, Sumru Erkut, associate director  
of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College, found that  
in a survey of 60 high-achieving women, many said they used their  
more limited time at the office to get more done, and employ their  
newfound ''Emotional IQ" and management skills to increase office  
output, she said. They cited their use of traditional mothering  
techniques -- such as empathy and understanding -- to manage employees.

None of the women in the Wellesley study cited motherhood as a  
detriment to their work, Erkut said, although many women in the  
contemporary workplace regularly downplay their roles at home.

''Historically men have credited military and sports backgrounds as  
giving them tools to be leaders," said Erkut. ''It's not out of the  
question that women would someday list motherhood on a resume with  
pride, instead of trying to cover up the fact she's stayed home for a  
time."

Erica Noonan can be reached at [log in to unmask]  
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