Neuroplasticity in the maternal hippocampus: Relation to cognition and effects of repeated stress

International audienceThis article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". It is becoming clear that the female brain has an inherent plasticity that is expressed during reproduction. The changes that occur benefit the offspring, which in turn secures the survival of the mother's genetic legacy. Thus, the onset of maternal motivation involves basic mechanisms from genetic expression profiles, to hormone release, to hormone-neuron interactions, all of which fundamentally change the neural architecture - and for a period of time that extends, interestingly, beyond the reproductive life of the female. Although multiple brain areas involved in maternal responses are discussed, this review focuses primarily on plasticity in the maternal hippocampus during pregnancy, the postpartum period and well into aging as it pertains to changes in cognition. In addition, the effects of prolonged and repeated stress on these dynamic responses are considered. The maternal brain is a marvel of directed change, extending into behaviors both obvious (infant-directed) and less obvious (predation, cognition). In sum, the far-reaching effects of reproduction on the female nervous system provide an opportunity to investigate neuroplasticity and behavioral flexibility in a natural mammalian model

The effects of fatigue and alcohol on highway safety. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.Mode of access: Internet.Author corporate affiliation: Koba Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C.Report covers the period March 1980-March 1981. Contract amount $63,815Subject code: EODSubject code: OBCBCSubject code: PDESubject code: PDGSubject code: PECSubject code: PEESubject code: YCCSubject code: YC

Reproductive experiential regulation of cognitive and emotional resilience.

Adaptation virtually defines survival. For mammals, arguably, no other developmental milestone is exemplified by--nor more reliant on--the sudden and dramatic behavioral alterations observed in the maternal female, which rapidly must undergo change in order to express a large suite of proper and effective maternal behaviors. As pregnancy progresses, as well as during lactation, when pup cues are rich and rampant, the female is literally transformed from an organism that actively avoided offspring-related signals, to one highly motivated by those same cues to build nests, be attracted to pups and to retrieve, group, groom, crouch-over, care for, and protect, the young. Ancillary responses such as reference memory, spatial learning, foraging (including predation), and boldness improve in mothers compared to virgins. Such modifications arise early and are persistent, with neural benefits that last well into senescence. Evolutionarily, such enhancements have likely reduced the maternal burdens associated with sheltering and feeding the vulnerable young; collectively, this strengthens the mother's/parent's reproductive fitness and that of the pups in which all this effort is invested. Of the many behaviors that change as a function of pending or concurrent maternity, therefore, what is the role of modifications to resilience, the ability to withstand the numerous, unpredictable, and threatening environmental events that the mother/parent must daily, indeed, multiply daily, face and thwart in order to bring the offspring from pups to fully functioning adults. We explore these questions, and their connections, here in a multi-disciplinary manner focused on the constellation of change that summates to fundamentally alter the female for the rest of her life. Behavior, brain, neurochemistry and genes are fundamentally changed as the substrate for reproduction unfolds and expresses its inherent plasticity

Reproductive experiential regulation of cognitive and emotional resilience.

Adaptation virtually defines survival. For mammals, arguably, no other developmental milestone is exemplified by--nor more reliant on--the sudden and dramatic behavioral alterations observed in the maternal female, which rapidly must undergo change in order to express a large suite of proper and effective maternal behaviors. As pregnancy progresses, as well as during lactation, when pup cues are rich and rampant, the female is literally transformed from an organism that actively avoided offspring-related signals, to one highly motivated by those same cues to build nests, be attracted to pups and to retrieve, group, groom, crouch-over, care for, and protect, the young. Ancillary responses such as reference memory, spatial learning, foraging (including predation), and boldness improve in mothers compared to virgins. Such modifications arise early and are persistent, with neural benefits that last well into senescence. Evolutionarily, such enhancements have likely reduced the maternal burdens associated with sheltering and feeding the vulnerable young; collectively, this strengthens the mother's/parent's reproductive fitness and that of the pups in which all this effort is invested. Of the many behaviors that change as a function of pending or concurrent maternity, therefore, what is the role of modifications to resilience, the ability to withstand the numerous, unpredictable, and threatening environmental events that the mother/parent must daily, indeed, multiply daily, face and thwart in order to bring the offspring from pups to fully functioning adults. We explore these questions, and their connections, here in a multi-disciplinary manner focused on the constellation of change that summates to fundamentally alter the female for the rest of her life. Behavior, brain, neurochemistry and genes are fundamentally changed as the substrate for reproduction unfolds and expresses its inherent plasticity