01946nas a2200301   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260001200043653001000055653002700065653002400092100002500116700003200141700002700173700001800200700002600218700001700244700001500261700002700276700001700303700001900320245007400339856005500413300001200468490000700480520114300487022001401630       2024                            d  c2024-0210aBrain10aCognitive neuroscience10aSocial neuroscience1 aMaría Paternina-Die1 aMagdalena Martínez-García1 aDaniel Martín de Blas1 aInés Noguero1 aCamila Servin-Barthet1 aClara Pretus1 aAnna Soler1 aGonzalo López-Montoya1 aManuel Desco1 aSusana Carmona00aWomen’s neuroplasticity during gestation, childbirth and postpartum  uhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01513-2  a319-3270 v273 aPregnancy is a unique neuroplastic period in adult life. This longitudinal study tracked brain cortical changes during the peripartum period and explored how the type of childbirth affects these changes. We collected neuroanatomic, obstetric and neuropsychological data from 110 first-time mothers during late pregnancy and early postpartum, as well as from 34 nulliparous women evaluated at similar time points. During late pregnancy, mothers showed lower cortical volume than controls across all functional networks. These cortical differences attenuated in the early postpartum session. Default mode and frontoparietal networks showed below-expected volume increases during peripartum, suggesting that their reductions may persist longer. Results also pointed to different cortical trajectories in mothers who delivered by scheduled C-section. The main findings were replicated in an independent sample of 29 mothers and 24 nulliparous women. These data suggest a dynamic trajectory of cortical decreases during pregnancy that attenuates in the postpartum period, at a different rate depending on the brain network and childbirth type.  a1546-1726