Motherhood and Structural Plasticity in the Hippocampus

描述（由申请人提供）：产后期间伴随着对生育成功至关重要的激素和行为的巨大变化。除了照顾方面的改变，怀孕和产后还与非生殖行为的改变有关，包括某些类型的学习和记忆。尽管有这些报道，但关于母性对神经系统的影响，特别是对与认知功能相关的大脑区域的影响，我们知之甚少。海马体就是这样一个大脑区域，它也因其结构可塑性的能力而被公认。具体来说，各种激素和经验因素影响整个成年期海马的树突结构、突触数量和新神经元的产生。然而，迄今为止还没有研究调查了产后海马结构可塑性发生改变的可能性。因此，本研究将探讨以下具体目的：1)确定产后海马结构可塑性是否发生改变；2)评估与产后相关的激素和经验变化是否为海马结构可塑性变化的基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The postpartum period is accompanied by dramatic changes in hormones and behavior that are critical for reproductive success. In addition to changes in caregiving, pregnancy and the postpartum period are associated with alterations in non-reproductive behaviors, including certain types of learning and memory. Despite these reports, very little, if anything, is known about the neural consequences of motherhood, particularly for brain regions associated with cognitive function. The hippocampus is one such brain region that is also well-recognized for its capacity for structural plasticity. Specifically, various hormonal and experiential factors affect dendritic structure, the number of synapses and the production of new neurons in the hippocampus throughout adulthood. However, no studies to date have investigated the possibility that alterations in structural plasticity occur in the hippocampus during the postpartum period. Thus, the proposed studies will explore the following specific aims: 1) To determine whether structural plasticity in the hippocampus is altered during the postpartum period 2) To evaluate whether hormonal and experiential changes associated with the postpartum period underlie changes in structural plasticity in the hippocampus.