# The maternal brain: Region‐specific patterns of brain aging are traceable decades after childbirth

## TL;DR

This study shows that having more children is linked to slower brain aging in certain brain regions, especially the accumbens, in middle- and older-aged women.

## Contribution

The study identifies region-specific brain aging patterns associated with parity using brain-age prediction methods in a large cohort.

## Key findings

- More childbirths correlate with less apparent brain aging in striatal and limbic regions.
- The strongest effect was observed in the accumbens, a key area for maternal behavior.
- These brain modulations from pregnancy may be detectable decades after childbirth.

## Abstract

Pregnancy involves maternal brain adaptations, but little is known about how parity influences women's brain aging trajectories later in life. In this study, we replicated previous findings showing less apparent brain aging in women with a history of childbirths, and identified regional brain aging patterns linked to parity in 19,787 middle‐ and older‐aged women. Using novel applications of brain‐age prediction methods, we found that a higher number of previous childbirths were linked to less apparent brain aging in striatal and limbic regions. The strongest effect was found in the accumbens—a key region in the mesolimbic reward system, which plays an important role in maternal behavior. While only prospective longitudinal studies would be conclusive, our findings indicate that subcortical brain modulations during pregnancy and postpartum may be traceable decades after childbirth.

In this study, we identified regional brain‐aging patterns linked to parity in 19,787 middle‐ and older‐aged women. A higher number of previous childbirths were linked to less apparent brain aging in striatal and limbic regions. The strongest effect was found in the accumbens—a key region in the mesolimbic reward system, which plays an important role in maternal behavior.