Individual Differences in Subcortical Morphological Changes Across Pregnancy
Poster No:
1009
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Kaya Jordan1, Hannah Grotzinger1, Caitlin Taylor1, Magdalena Martínez García1, Laura Pritschet2, Elizabeth Chrastil3, Emily Jacobs1
Institutions:
1University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 2University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 3Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Elizabeth Chrastil, PhD
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA
Introduction:
Pregnancy is a period of profound biological change, yet the accompanying adaptations that occur in the human brain remain poorly understood. The existing maternal brain literature focuses primarily on cortical changes, overlooking subcortical morphology. To date, the limited research on subcortical volumetric adaptations to pregnancy rely on comparisons of the brain before and after gestation or in the postpartum period. This work identified gray matter volume (GMV) reductions in subcortical regions (hippocampus, ventral striatum, and dorsal striatum) pre- to post-partum (Servin-Barthet et al., 2023) and volumetric increases in the postpartum period (Servin-Barthet et al., 2023; Kim et al., 2010). Mapping the full trajectory of these changes beginning preconception through the postpartum period is warranted. To that end, a recent proof-of-concept precision imaging study from our group tracked the progression of structural changes in a single individual across 26 timepoints, starting pre-conception through two years postpartum (Pritschet et al., 2024). Results revealed extensive reductions in subcortical gray matter volume in bilateral thalamus, caudate, hippocampus, ventral diencephalon.
Methods:
Expanding on this pilot study, our group launched the Maternal Brain Project which is tracking multimodal MRI, biofluid, and mood changes in an expanded cohort of first-time mothers, partners, and controls. Here we present the first subcortical volumetric analyses from this dataset, including two primiparous female participants who underwent ~30 MRI scans starting pre-conception through one year postpartum. At each imaging session, whole-brain structural sequences and a high resolution T2-weighted scan of the medial temporal lobe were acquired. Prior to analysis, 6 subcortical regions of interest (ROIs) were identified from the existing literature – cerebellum, thalamus, caudate, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, ventral diencephalon – and bilateral GMV was analyzed at each timepoint. Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were employed to assess the relationship between subcortical GMV and gestation week.
Results:
Results suggest individual differences in the nature of these subcortical changes. For example, in subject 1, GAM models revealed significant decreases in GMV in left caudate, right thalamus, and right hippocampus with advancing gestational week (Left caudate: F = 23.38, p < 0.001, deviance explained = 68%, R-sq.(adj) = 0.65; Right thalamus: F = 29.39, p < 0.001, deviance explained = 72.8%, R-sq.(adj) = 0.70; Right hippocampus: F = 26.89, p < 0.001, deviance explained = 71%, R-sq.(adj) = 0.68) (Figure 1). In subject 2, gestational week showed a significant negative relationship with bilateral cerebellum (Left cerebellum: F = 8.34, p < 0.001, deviance explained = 72%, R-sq.(adj) = 0.66; Right cerebellum: F = 25.81, p < 0.001, deviance explained = 92%, R-sq.(adj) = 0.89) (Figure 2). Left thalamus, right caudate, left hippocampus, bilateral nucleus accumbens, and bilateral ventral diencephalon showed no evidence of change across gestation in either participant.
Conclusions:
Pregnancy is a period of pronounced neuroplasticity often accompanied by cognitive and sensory changes, with considerable variability among the millions of individuals that experience pregnancy every year. It is vital to explore the individual differences in brain adaptations, including subcortical regions, that might underlie these reported changes. Future directions will increase the sample size of the Maternal Brain Project to further characterize the shared and subject-specific reorganization of brain morphology across the population.
Lifespan Development:
Lifespan Development Other 1
Neuroanatomy, Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission:
Subcortical Structures 2
Keywords:
Experimental Design
MRI
Plasticity
STRUCTURAL MRI
Sub-Cortical
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Provide references using APA citation style.
Pritschet, L., et al. (2024). Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy. Nature Neuroscience, 27, 2253–2260.
Servin-Barthet, C., et al. (2023). The transition to motherhood: linking hormones, brain and behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 24, 605–619.