Pregnancy changes a woman’s brain, altering the size and structure of areas involved in perceiving the feelings and perspectives of others, according to a first-of-its-kind study published Dec. 19 last year.
In the study, researchers scanned the brains of women who had never conceived before, and again after they gave birth for the first time. The results were remarkable: loss of gray matter in several brain areas involved in a process called social cognition or theory of mind, the ability to register and consider how other people perceive things.
Pregnancy may help a woman’s brain specialize in “a mother’s ability to recognize the needs of her infant, to recognize social threats or to promote mother-infant bonding,” said Elseline Hoekzema, a researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who led the study at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain.
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透社
The researchers also scanned the brains of 17 men who were not fathers and 19 first-time fathers before and after their partners’ pregnancies. The two male groups showed no difference in brain volume.
(NEW YORK TIMES / Pam Belluck)
去年十二月十九日公佈的一項研究顯示，懷孕會改變女性大腦某些部位的大小和結構，這些區域關係到對他人的感受和看法，這是首次進行的此類研究。
在這項研究中，研究人員掃描了從未懷過孕的女性的大腦，然後在她們第一次生育後再次進行掃描。結果很明顯：有一些腦部區域中的灰質減少了，這些區域涉及社會認知或心理理論過程，指的是注意和考慮他人如何感知事物的能力。
荷蘭萊頓大學的研究員艾斯琳·赫澤馬解釋說，懷孕有助於女性的大腦專注於培養「一個母親意識到嬰兒的需求，意識到社會威脅，以及拉近母嬰關係的能力」。赫澤馬領導了最近在西班牙巴塞隆那自治大學進行的這項研究。
研究人員也掃描了十七名沒有做過父親的男子的大腦，和十九位首次為人父的男子的大腦;在他們的伴侶懷孕前後各掃描了一次。結果顯示，這兩組人的腦容量並無差異。
（紐約時報／土土、常青譯）
Note: This article is an edited version of a piece that originally appeared in the New York Times
註: 本文為編輯後的版本，原文已於紐約時報刊登
The subject of placebos has been fascinating scientists and medical professionals for decades. The word placebo comes from Latin and means “I shall please.” The concept of the placebo effect refers to the phenomenon in which treatments or procedures produce positive outcomes merely because individuals believe they will work. __1__ During medicine trials, researchers often include a “placebo group” as a control to measure the true efficacy of the medication being tested. While one group receives actual drugs, the placebo group is given an inert substance, such as a sugar pill. To ensure unbiased results, participants in the placebo
With the pace of climate change speeding up, extreme weather and other impacts are taking an increasing toll on populations and environments across the globe. Here are some of the developments this year in climate science: WARMER, FASTER Global temperatures are not just climbing, they are now climbing faster than before, with new records logged for 2023 and 2024, and at points in 2025. That finding was part of a key study in June that updated baseline data used in the science reports done every few years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The new research shows the average global
Did you know that one in 10 people will develop kidney stones in their lifetime? These tiny, hard deposits can cause intense pain that sends even the toughest individuals to the emergency room. Kidney stones form when minerals and waste in urine become too dense. Normally, these substances are flushed out with the urine. However, if there’s not enough water in the body, or the levels of these substances are too high, they can cluster together and form crystals. Over time, these crystals can grow into hard lumps that may block the flow of urine. The primary symptom is
When we hear the word honeymoon, most of us probably think of newlyweds relaxing on a beach or exploring a romantic city. It’s that sweet, exciting period right after the wedding and before real life kicks in. While it sounds modern, this word has a surprisingly long history. Some __1__ believe the term honeymoon comes from Old English, way back in the Middle Ages. One theory is that it refers to the “Mead Moon” or “Honey Moon,” both of which were once synonymous with June. During this time, honey was __2__ after bees had gathered nectar throughout the spring.
RSS