Mommy Brain Revisited

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited, host Dr. Jodi Pawluski speaks with Dr. Elseline Hoekzema about her recent research on how pregnancy reshapes the brain—and whether those changes happen differently during a second pregnancy.Drawing on longitudinal brain imaging studies, Dr. Hoekzema explains how many of the structural brain changes observed in first-time mothers reappear during a second pregnancy, but often to a lesser degree. The conversation explores how pregnancy fine-tunes brain networks involved in social cognition, self-perception, attention, and processing sensory cues, while also revealing unique adaptations that may help mothers manage the demands of caring for multiple children.They discuss the concept of "maternal memory," why some brain changes appear to be long-lasting, and how becoming a mother for the first time may trigger distinct neural adaptations that are not repeated in subsequent pregnancies. The episode offers a fascinating look at the latest neuroscience of motherhood and what researchers are learning about the remarkable plasticity of the parental brain. The ResearchThe featured study is published in the Journal of Neuroendocrinology Special Issue on the Parental Brain, edited by Dr Jodi Pawluski, Dr Joseph Lonstein, Dr Susana Carmona and Dr Oscar Vilarroya.Publication information:Halmans S, Straathof M, van 't Hof S, Denys D, Crone EA, Månsson KNT, Hoekzema E. Neural variability across the transition to motherhood: Enhanced moment-to-moment neural variability during mentalizing in first-time mothers. J Neuroendocrinol. 2026 May;38(5):e70191. doi: 10.1111/jne.70191. PMID: 42062236; PMCID: PMC13132796. Halmans S, Straathof M, van 't Hof S, Denys D, Crone EA, Månsson KNT, Hoekzema E. Pregnancy changes the variability of brain signaling, NeuroImage, Volume 333, 2026, 121923,ISSN 1053-8119, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.121923. Special thanks to Agnes, the Communications Officer, British Society for Neuroendocrinology for editing! Visit www.jodipawluski.com for more on all things parenting and perinatal mental health.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited, I talk with Dr Silvana Valtcheva, a Junior Group Leader at University of Cologne in the Faculty of Medicine, about her recent work on oxytocin and it’s role in the maternal brain and behaviour. For more about Dr Valtcheva’s research see: www.valtchevalab.com Paper we talk about: Valtcheva S*#, Issa HA*, Bair-Marshall CJ, Martin KA, Jung K, Zhang Y, Kwon HB, Froemke RC#, Neural circuitry for maternal oxytocin release induced by infant cries. 2023 Nature. Sep;621(7980):788-795. (*co-first author; #co-corresponding author) music: "All In My Head" by Luna Wave from Soundstripe

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Susana Carmona, Research Scientist at the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón in Madrid, Spain. We talk about her recent research on how a mother’s brain changes from late pregnancy to the early postpartum published in Nature Neuroscience early this year. Fascinating research and the first of its kind! For more about Dr Carmona see: https://neuromaternal.es/ Her book is available in Spanish and titled: Neuromaternal: ¿Qué le pasa a mi cerebro durante el embarazo y la maternidad?. For our episode together on Matrescence and Adolescence see episode 6 here. Paper we talk about: Paternina-Die, M., Martínez-García, M., Martín de Blas, D. et al. Women’s neuroplasticity during gestation, childbirth and postpartum. Nat Neurosci 27, 319–327 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01513-2⁠ Link to paper⁠ Music: Luna Wave via Soundstripe

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Shir Atzil an Assistant Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. We discuss her recent Perspective in Nature Human Behaviour titled ‘Growing A Social Brain’. A must read! We talk about the importance of a caregiver or caregivers in growing a social brain, what happens when infants are more challenging or parents are struggling, and the fact that the parental brain is actually in charge of two brains. You won’t want to miss this one! For more information on Dr Atzil see https://www.atzillab.com/ Here is a link to the paper that we talk about: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0384-6#auth-Shir-Atzil Citation: Atzil, S., Gao, W., Fradkin, I. et al. Growing a social brain. Nat Hum Behav 2, 624–636 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0384-6

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Danielle Stolzenberg, an Associate Professor at UC Davis, about the nonhormonal basis of parenting, modelling perinatal mental illness, and the 51 Foundation which she started. We also talk about the need to understand current treatments for perinatal mental illness (particularly SSRIs) and the importance of funding research in females. Yes! For more information on Dr Stolzenberg see https://psychology.ucdavis.edu/people/dstolzen Here is a link to the paper that we talk about: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34674243/ Paper citation: Rosinger ZJ, Mayer HS, Geyfen JI, Orser MK, Stolzenberg DS. Ethologically relevant repeated acute social stress induces maternal neglect in the lactating female mouse. Dev Psychobiol. 2021 Nov;63(7):e22173. doi: 10.1002/dev.22173. PMID: 34674243; PMCID: PMC10631567.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Jonny Kohl, Group Leader, State-Dependent Neural Processing Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK. We talk about his new research on how the hormones of pregnancy affect specific neurons in the MPOA that essential for parenting. It’s a fascinating new finding and provides valuable insight into the neuroendocrine factors governing parental care. We also talk about whether or not we should be using reproductively experienced females more in general neuroscience research because of the long-term impact of pregnancy on the brain, the importance of state in general and practical considerations for doing these types of studies. It’s a good one. You won’t want to miss it. For more information on Dr Kohl and his group: https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/find-a-researcher/jonny-kohl Here is a link to the paper we talk about: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi0576

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Kristina M. Deligiannidis, MD, Professor, Institute of Behavioral Science, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Director, Women’s Behavioral Health, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health, Professor, Psychiatry, Molecular Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, USA. We talk about her research on the development of neurosteroid treatments for postpartum depression. In particular we talk about her work on the new FDA approved oral medication for postpartum depression – Zuranolone as well as some practical information on Zuranolone, itself. Don’t miss this episode on Mommy Brain Revisited. It’s an important one for understanding the current treatment options and challenges for perinatal mental illness. For more information on Dr Deligiannidis’ work and her contact information see: https://feinstein.northwell.edu/institutes-researchers/our-researchers/kristina-m-deligiannidis-md Download one of the publications that we talk about here: https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220785

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Tara Chaplin, Associate Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, USA. We talk about parenting, mindfulness, and the parental brain. We also talk about the importance of mindfulness in terms of parenting tweens and teens, how mindfulness helps empower parents to parent with intention (wow!), and her ongoing research in this area. Don’t miss this episode on Mommy Brain Revisited. It will make you want to be more mindful! Download the publication that we talk about here: Affective Neural Mechanisms of a Parenting-Focused Mindfulness Intervention https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7962669/pdf/nihms-1525033.pdf For more information on Dr Chaplin’s work: https://yel.gmu.edu/ Although the Mindfulness intervention they use is not readily available it is based on MBSR or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction techniques and other evidence based interventions. Book recommendation: Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Jon and Myla Kabat-Zinn. Citation of study we talk about: Turpyn CC, Chaplin TM, Fischer S, Thompson JC, Fedota JR, Baer RA, Martelli AM. Affective Neural Mechanisms of a Parenting-Focused Mindfulness Intervention. Mindfulness (N Y). 2021 Feb;12(2):392-404. doi: 10.1007/s12671-019-01118-6. Epub 2019 Feb 16.