Pregnancy-Associated Volumetric Changes in the Thalamic Nuclei
Poster No:
1753
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Tara Chand1, Duygu Sen2, Meng Li2, Yuan Cao2, Martin Walter2, Vinod Kumar3
Institutions:
1O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India, 2Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany, 3Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Pregnancy induces anatomical, physiological, and hormonal changes in the body and brain to support the developing fetus, prepare the mother for childbirth, and adapt maternal behaviour to ensure neonatal care 1,2. Recent research has observed structural and functional changes in the maternal brain during pregnancy, including reductions in cortical and subcortical volumes in certain brain regions 3,4. These observed changes may also impact the thalamus nuclei, as thalamus nuclei play a critical role in integrating body signals via cortical-subcortical and cortico-cortical interactions. However, the nuclei-specific changes and their behavioural association with mood and lifestyle measures during pregnancy in the thalamus remain underexplored.
Methods:
Data:
The study utilizes the publicly available longitudinal imaging datasets acquired during pregnancy from a 38-year-old healthy first-time pregnant woman 4. The data spans 26 imaging sessions across pre-pregnancy, pregnancy trimesters, and postpartum phases.
Thalamus nuclei segmentation and statistical analysis:
We segmented thalamus nuclei using FreeSurfer on the available structural MRI datasets 5. We used the volume of each thalamus nucleus across sessions for the statistical analysis to observe volumetric changes. The generalized additive models examined volumetric changes in each thalamic nucleus over the gestational timeline 4,6. Furthermore, we calculated the associations between thalamic volume measures and mood and lifestyle scores across pregnancy.
The study utilizes the publicly available longitudinal imaging datasets acquired during pregnancy from a 38-year-old healthy first-time pregnant woman 4. The data spans 26 imaging sessions across pre-pregnancy, pregnancy trimesters, and postpartum phases.
Thalamus nuclei segmentation and statistical analysis:
We segmented thalamus nuclei using FreeSurfer on the available structural MRI datasets 5. We used the volume of each thalamus nucleus across sessions for the statistical analysis to observe volumetric changes. The generalized additive models examined volumetric changes in each thalamic nucleus over the gestational timeline 4,6. Furthermore, we calculated the associations between thalamic volume measures and mood and lifestyle scores across pregnancy.
Results:
The statistical analysis of the thalamus nuclei volumes reveals significant, non-linear (effective degrees of freedom = 4) bilateral volume reductions in core and matrix thalamic nuclei (Figure 1).
Core–Specific Thalamus Nuclei:
The VA and VAmc receive input from the brainstem, cerebellum, and basal ganglia and project it to the premotor and supplementary motor cortices. Research suggests that VA and VAmc engage in motor planning and initiation and influence motor commands by integrating signals from motor-related bodily inputs. In contrast, VLa and VLp engage in motor control and coordination by mainly interacting with the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and primary motor cortex.
Matrix – Nonspecific Thalamus Nuclei:
The higher-order thalamus nuclei (AV, Mdm, Mdl, and PuA) are associated with multiple brain functions 7. Research suggests that AV plays a role in spatial navigation, learning, and episodic memory by functionally integrating spatial information related to head movements with its communication with the hippocampus, mammillary body, cingulate gyrus, and limbic circuit 8. Research suggests that Mdm and Mdl perform multi-sensory integration and support cognitive functions, including learning, attention, planning, and decision-making 9. Mdm and Mdl connect with the prefrontal cortex and limbic system and may influence executive functions by integrating emotional and cognitive information. Research suggests that PuA plays a role in visual attention and sensory information integration through its cortico-cortical interactions and connectivity with the superior colliculus, visual cortex, and parietal, temporal, and occipital cortices, supporting different streams of visual processing (i.e., dorsal, lateral, and ventral) 10.
Behavioural association:
The thalamus nuclei volume is associated with gestational hormone levels, depressed state, total mood and stress level, suggesting an adaptive process facilitating maternal physiological and behavioural adjustments during and after pregnancy (Figure 2).
Core–Specific Thalamus Nuclei:
The VA and VAmc receive input from the brainstem, cerebellum, and basal ganglia and project it to the premotor and supplementary motor cortices. Research suggests that VA and VAmc engage in motor planning and initiation and influence motor commands by integrating signals from motor-related bodily inputs. In contrast, VLa and VLp engage in motor control and coordination by mainly interacting with the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and primary motor cortex.
Matrix – Nonspecific Thalamus Nuclei:
The higher-order thalamus nuclei (AV, Mdm, Mdl, and PuA) are associated with multiple brain functions 7. Research suggests that AV plays a role in spatial navigation, learning, and episodic memory by functionally integrating spatial information related to head movements with its communication with the hippocampus, mammillary body, cingulate gyrus, and limbic circuit 8. Research suggests that Mdm and Mdl perform multi-sensory integration and support cognitive functions, including learning, attention, planning, and decision-making 9. Mdm and Mdl connect with the prefrontal cortex and limbic system and may influence executive functions by integrating emotional and cognitive information. Research suggests that PuA plays a role in visual attention and sensory information integration through its cortico-cortical interactions and connectivity with the superior colliculus, visual cortex, and parietal, temporal, and occipital cortices, supporting different streams of visual processing (i.e., dorsal, lateral, and ventral) 10.
Behavioural association:
The thalamus nuclei volume is associated with gestational hormone levels, depressed state, total mood and stress level, suggesting an adaptive process facilitating maternal physiological and behavioural adjustments during and after pregnancy (Figure 2).
Conclusions:
This study reveals volume reductions in specific and nonspecific thalamic nuclei during pregnancy and associations with mood, stress, and hormonal levels. These findings suggest that thalamic nuclei may support the adaptive motor, sensory, cognitive, emotional, and brain-body communication changes required during pregnancy.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Emotion and Motivation Other
Neuroanatomy, Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission:
Subcortical Structures 1
Neuroanatomy Other
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
Anatomical MRI 2
Keywords:
Emotions
MRI
STRUCTURAL MRI
Thalamus
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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2. Motosko, C. C., Bieber, A. K., Pomeranz, M. K., Stein, J. A. & Martires, K. J. Physiologic changes of pregnancy: A review of the literature. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology 3, 219–224 (2017).
3. Hoekzema, E. et al. Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure. Nat Neurosci 20, 287–296 (2017).
4. Pritschet, L. et al. Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy. Nat Neurosci 27, 2253–2260 (2024).
5. Iglesias, J. E. et al. A probabilistic atlas of the human thalamic nuclei combining ex vivo MRI and histology. Neuroimage 183, 314–326 (2018).
6. Wood, S. N. Generalized Additive Models: An Introduction with R, Second Edition. (Chapman and Hall/CRC, New York, 2017). doi:10.1201/9781315370279.
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8. O‘Mara, S. M. The anterior thalamus provides a subcortical circuit supporting memory and spatial navigation. Front. Syst. Neurosci 7, 45 (2013).
9. Mitchell, A. S. The mediodorsal thalamus as a higher order thalamic relay nucleus important for learning and decision-making. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 54, 76–88 (2015).
10. Arcaro, M. J., Pinsk, M. A., Chen, J. & Kastner, S. Organizing principles of pulvino-cortical functional coupling in humans. Nat Commun 9, 5382 (2018).