Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Maternal brain adaptations have been found across pregnancy and postpartum, but little is known about the long-term effects of parity on the maternal brain. Using neuroimaging and machine learning, we investigated structural brain characteristics in 12,021 middle-aged women from the UK Biobank, demonstrating that parous women showed less evidence of brain aging compared to their nulliparous peers. The relationship between childbirths and a "younger-looking" brain could not be explained by common genetic variation or relevant confounders. Although prospective longitudinal studies are needed, the results suggest that parity may involve neural changes that could influence women's brain aging later in life.

Original publication

DOI

10.1073/pnas.1910666116

Type

Journal article

Journal

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Publication Date

29/10/2019

Volume

116

Pages

22341 - 22346

Keywords

brain imaging, genetics, machine learning, pregnancy and childbirth, Adaptation, Physiological, Aged, Brain, Female, Humans, Machine Learning, Middle Aged, Parturition