Human Maternal Brain Plasticity: Adaptation to Parenting

Publication Date

9-2-2016

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

Keywords

New mothers, Mother–infant relationships, Adaptation, Plasticity

Abstract

New mothers undergo dynamic neural changes that support positive adaptation to parenting and the development of mother–infant relationships. In this article, I review important psychological adaptations that mothers experience during pregnancy and the early postpartum period. I then review evidence of structural and functional plasticity in human mothers’ brains, and explore how such plasticity supports mothers’ psychological adaptation to parenting and sensitive maternal behaviors. Last, I discuss pregnancy and the early postpartum period as a window of vulnerabilities and opportunities when the human maternal brain is influenced by stress and psychopathology, but also receptive to interventions.

Copyright Date

9-2-2016

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:

Kim, P. (2016). Human maternal brain plasticity: Adaptation to parenting. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2016(153), 47-58. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20168

Accepted Manuscript is openly available through the "Link to Full Text" button.

The published Version of Record is available at libraries through Compass or Worldcat.

Rights Holder

Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Provenance

Received from CHORUS

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

12 pgs

File Size

82 KB

Publication Title

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

Volume

2016

Issue

153

First Page

47

Last Page

58

ISSN

1534-8687

PubMed ID

27589497

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