In pregnant women, the right half of the brain is more active, which is responsible for the emotional sphere. To this conclusion came the British scientists from RoyalHolloway.
Detailed results of the study were presented by Dr. Victoria Bourne (VictoriaBourne) from the Department of Psychology RoyalHolloway at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society.
"Our results give us valuable information about the phenomenon of the" child's brain, "which makes a woman more sensitive to emotions during the gestation of a child," - says the researcher.
Previous scientific work suggests that a slight decrease in memory and learning ability during pregnancy helps a woman prepare for other cognitive changes that occur after the birth of a child.
In 2008, the American Psychological Association (ARA) reported that the woman's brain even slightly decreases during pregnancy. The association quoted a study from the American Journal of Neuroradiology, during which researchers found a reversible decrease in brain volume in pregnant women by about 4%.
In her latest study, Dr. Bourne and her colleagues observed that in pregnant women the right half of the brain is more active than in women who have recently given birth. They are especially intensively using this half when they look at the faces of people expressing different emotions.
"The results suggest that during pregnancy there are changes in the brain's processing of the emotions seen. This neurologically prepares a woman to communicate with her child, who should soon be born, "- said Bourne.
The researchers analyzed neuropsychological activity in 39 pregnant women and young mothers when they viewed images of adults and children expressing positive or negative emotions.
Scientists used a method known as chimeric face test. It includes images consisting of parts of faces with a neutral expression and parts of people with an emotional expression. Psychologists say that this method allows them to observe which half of the brain the subject uses during the processing of pictures with those or other emotions.
The team found that pregnant women use mainly the right side of the brain - much more than do the newly born. This is especially true for image processing, which depicts people with positive emotions.
Commenting on her discovery, Dr. Bourne said: "We know from early research that pregnant and young mothers feel emotionally, especially when they look at a child's face. We also know that young mothers who show symptoms of postpartum depression sometimes interpret their child's facial expression more negatively than there really is ".
In an interview with the Internet edition of Medical News Today, the researcher explained that this effect can be preparatory: "Thus, in the final stage of pregnancy the woman's brain prepares to better perceive the emotions of the newborn baby".
The doctor believes that this is very useful for early monitoring of the emotional state of the child. However, it is premature to draw conclusions because the study did not involve women without children. So now scientists are going to work with the control group.
medbe. en.