Cortical Thickness Variation of the Maternal Brain in the First 6 Months Postpartum: Associations with Parental Self-Efficacy

Publication Date

9-2018

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

Keywords

Postpartum, Cortical thickness, Brain plasticity, New mothers

Abstract

The postpartum period is associated with structural and functional plasticity in brain regions involved in parenting. While one study identified an increase in gray matter volume during the first 4 months among new mothers, little is known regarding the relationship between cortical thickness across postpartum months and perceived adjustment to parenthood. In this study of 39 socioeconomically diverse first-time new mothers, we examined the relations among postpartum months, cortical thickness, and parental self-efficacy. We identified a positive association between postpartum months and cortical thickness in the prefrontal cortex including the superior frontal gyrus extending into the medial frontal and orbitofrontal gyri, in the lateral occipital gyrus extending into the inferior parietal and fusiform gyri, as well as in the caudal middle frontal and precentral gyri. The relationship between cortical thickness and parental self-efficacy was specific to the prefrontal regions. These findings contribute to our understanding of the maternal brain in the first 6 months postpartum and provide evidence of a relationship between brain structure and perceived adjustment to parenthood.

Copyright Date

5-31-2018

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:

Kim, P., Dufford, A. J., & Tribble, R. C. (2018). Cortical thickness variation of the maternal brain in the first 6 months postpartum: Associations with parental self-efficacy. Brain Structure & Function, 223(7), 3267–3277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-018-1688-z

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Rights Holder

Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Provenance

Received from CHORUS

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

11 pgs

File Size

946 KB

Publication Title

Brain Structure and Function

Volume

223

Issue

7

First Page

3267

Last Page

3277

ISSN

1863-2661

PubMed ID

29855765

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