Transcript of Doctor Explains How Pregnancy Shrinks The Brain!
Dr Karan
0:00[Music]0:05what un fun fact incubating a tiny human0:08can indeed cause a pregnant woman's0:09brain to shrink and this volume loss can0:12last up to 2 years specifically there's0:14evidence that it's a brain's gray matter0:16which shrinks that's the tissue0:17containing the cell bodies and synapses0:19of nerve cells while losing gray matter0:21sounds like it might be detrimental and0:23would lead to a loss of function0:24actually the effect might be the total0:26opposite volume loss could lead to a0:28fine-tuning or streamlining of brain0:30connections a similar process happens in0:32the teenage brain a flood of hormones0:34triggers the widespread pruning of0:35synapses that's the connection between0:37nerve cells and this makes for more0:38efficient streamlined brain circuits now0:40the gr matter shrinkage in pregnant0:42women happens in brain areas involved in0:44processing and responding to social0:46signals this may mean that new mothers0:48brains are more efficiently wired in0:49areas that allow them to respond to0:51their infant's needs or detect0:52threatening people in their environment0:54so what seems scary might actually be an0:56Adaptive advantage to be a better parent
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