The profound neuroanatomical changes that occur during the transition to motherhood

Dr. Magdalena Martinez Garcia is a Senior Scientist at UC Santa Barbara and the Ann S. Bowers Women’s Brain Health Initiative.

In 2024 a team of scientists at UC Santa Barbara generated the first detailed map of the human brain across pregnancy. Now they are launching a global expansion of the “Maternal Brain Project” to establish the most comprehensive maternal neuroimaging database to date. Led by Dr. Martinez Garcia, the Maternal Brain Project is shining a light on the neuroscience of matrescence, or the profound neural adaptations that occur during pregnancy and postpartum. To what extent is the adult human brain capable of extensive neuroplasticity? Could the remodeling of the maternal brain inspire new treatments for stroke or brain injury? Can we detect biomarkers of postpartum depression before behavioral symptoms manifest? Do pregnancy conditions like preeclampsia or gestational diabetes effect maternal brain health? To answer these questions—and many more—a global team of experts in neuroscience, reproductive immunology, proteomics, and AI have joined forces to chart the unparalleled transformation of the maternal brain—searching for insights that could enhance brain health not just for mothers, but for everyone.