Maternal_Behavior

The Maternal Brain The maternal brain and body is filled with hormones both during and after pregnancy. Without these hormones, mothers would not be able to nurture their offspring properly. Researchers have done extensive tests on mammalian mothers to illustrate how the maternal brain responds to different situations during and after pregnancy in comparison to virgin mammals. There are several hormones that are responsible for maternal behavior in mammals. Estrogen is responsible for regulating aggression and sexuality in mammals (Craig, Kelley 74). Progesterone is a lactation-inducing hormone which stimulates maternal behavior, but also regulates responses such as sexuality in mothers (Craig, Kelley 74). Another hormone that is very important during child labor is endorphins. During nursing, a mother’s breasts releases endorphins, which act as an opiate drug drawing the mother closer to its baby (Craig, Kelley 74). Oxytocin also has the same effect as endorphins for the mother, it draws the mother and pups closer also acting like an opiate , it triggers birth contractions and milk release. It improves memory and learning in the mother’s brain (Craig, Kelley 74). There are several regions of the brain that are instrumental in maternal behaviors. Damaging any of these areas will negatively affect the mother’s ability to nurse her young. The prefrontal cortex regulates reward in mothers and becomes activated when the human mother gazes at their children (Craig, Kelley 75). The cingulated cortex regulates emotions that are important in maternal behavior. Damaging it would eliminate maternal behavior (Craig, Kelley 74). The nucleus accumbens is a site that is important to reinforcement and reward; it increases significantly when a mother nurses her pups. The hypothalamus is responsible for producing endorphins via with the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus also regulates maternal responses. The hippocampus governs memory and learning (Craig, Kelley 74). The hippocampus is responsible for regulating stress and emotions. It ensures that a mother rat is able to leave her nest and return home quickly to take care of her pups (Craig, Kelley 75). The pituitary gland secretes oxytocin and helps in the production of endorphins which helps to initiate maternal behavior (Craig, Kelley 74). Mother rats outperform virgins and researchers have done tests to prove this theory. Mother rats have been shown to be better at navigating mazes and capturing prey. Mother rats also beat virgins in multitasking such as simultaneously monitoring sights, sounds, odors and other animals. At nearly every age, the mother rats were bolder than the virgins(Craig, Kelley 72). The mother rat’s devotion to its pups is its greatest quality. Offspring’s are the reward that reinforces maternal behavior. Ronald J. Gandelman of Rutgers did an experiment to show that when a mother mouse is given an opportunity to foster pups, the mouse presses a bar in her cage, causing the pups to slide down a chute—the mother will keep pressing the bar until her cage fills with the squirming, pink objects. (Craig, Kelley 74). Spatial memory is responsible for recording information about one’s environment (Wikipedia.org). For example, when a mother leaves its nest to gather food, its spatial memory increases which reduces the amount of time the mother is away from its pup (Craig, Kelley 76). Mammalian mothers often are also more aggressive when confronted in situations making them braver. A reduction of the rat’s fear and anxiety would make it easier for her to leave the nest, allow her to forage faster, and steel her for confrontations with her hostile surroundings (Craig, Kelley 76). Motherhood affects neurons and glial cells. Hormonal changes ramp up neural activity during pregnancy, modifying neurons and glial cells in critical brain regions to enhance learning and spatial memory (Craig, Kelley 77). Recent studies indicate that the human brain may undergo changes in the sensory regulatory system similar to that of rats. Human mothers are capable of recognizing many of their infants’ odors and sounds, possibly because of enhanced sensory abilities (Craig, Kelley 78). A study found that women who had been pregnant at or after the age of 40 were four times more likely to survive to 100 than women who had been pregnant earlier in life. The data suggests that women who became pregnant naturally in their 40s were probably aging at a slower pace (Craig, Kelley 79). Unfortunately, scientists have conducted little research comparing the learning or spatial memory abilities of human mothers and non-mothers. However, research has shown that mothers have the ability to multitask more successfully (Craig, Kelley 79). There are two types of mazes, the radial maze and the elevated plus maze. Mammialian mothers perform well in both mazes as opposed to virgin rats. The radial maze measures spatial memory and the elevated plus maze measures fear and anxiety in the rats pace (Craig, Kelley 78). Paternal brains also participate in the care of their offspring. A marmoset, a small Brazilian monkey reacts similar to his female counterpart. Marmosets are monogamous, and both parents participate in the care of their offspring. Male mammals with offspring have better spatial memory than mammal bachelors (Craig, Kelley 79). This research indicates that a mother’s biology (neurology) is changed by the experience of being pregnant. Hormones and areas of the brain are responsible for a mother’s ability to nurture for its young. Nurturing is part of nature, without the biological changes that are involved with pregnancy, nurturing would not be able to take place. This article is interesting because it shed light on how the maternal brain works. It’s not just a physical change in the mother’s body but there are neurological changes in the brain that occur as well. This process in the brain explains why mothers are very protective and the reason why they bond with their offspring. Work Cited Kingsley H. Craig, and Lambert G. Kelly. “The Maternal Brain”. Scientific American (January 2006): 72-79 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_memory October 5th 2010