The researchers found sweeping changes in overall brain neuroanatomy which unfolded week by week during the pregnancy.

Inside Chrastil’s brain, grey matter volume, cortical thickness, white matter microstructure, and ventricle volume all changed.

The changes were all over the brain too — “over 80% of my brain regions showed reductions in grey matter volume,” Chrastil said.

Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy. Published by Pritschet, L., Taylor, C.M., Cossio, D. et al. in Nature Neuroscience (September 2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01741-0

  • finley
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    1 day ago

    Cool.

    At this point, I wish there was a wiki for things that can rewire one’s brain. Ya know, beyond everyday experiences. This is hardly the only experience which does, and a database should be created of what can, how, why, etc.

      • finley
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        201 day ago

        Probably not, given how they work, and that’s a good thing.

        • Riskable
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          31 day ago

          I’ve used this term before in a different context: It’s what happens when someone is about to do something that both scares and excites them at the same time. Like when a person suddenly finds themselves extremely attracted to someone and they want to make a good impression. That’s when their brain seems to be both there and not there at the same time.

          When observing someone in this sort of situation you quickly come to the conclusion that the brain has gone but then later–upon reflection–it may seem like it may have actually been present. The only way to know for sure is to find out how the events eventually concluded; opening the box as it were.

          That’s when you find out whether or not the person was a pussy.

      • @[email protected]
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        1 day ago

        just having to go into an MRI tube every couple weeks without it turned on would probably rewire your brain a little bit. that’s not a comfortable place to be mentally.