Differences in navigation performance and postpartal striatal volume associated with pregnancy in humans.
Pregnancy is accompanied by prolonged exposure to high estrogen levels. Animal studies have shown that estrogen influences navigation strategies and, hence, affects navigation performance. High estrogen levels are related to increased use of hippocampal-based allocentric strategies and decreased use of striatal-based egocentric strategies. In humans, associations between hormonal shifts and navigation strategies are less well studied. This study compared 30 peripartal women (mean age 28years) to an age-matched control group on allocentric versus egocentric navigation performance (measured in the last month of pregnancy) and gray matter volume (measured within two months after delivery). None of the women had a previous pregnancy before study participation. Relative to controls, pregnant women performed less well in the egocentric condition of the navigation task, but not the allocentric condition. A whole-brain group comparison revealed smaller left striatal volume (putamen) in the peripartal women. Across the two groups, left striatal volume was associated with superior egocentric over allocentric performance. Limited by the cross-sectional study design, the findings are a first indication that human pregnancy might be accompanied by structural brain changes in navigation-related neural systems and concomitant changes in navigation strategy.
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. Electronic address: N.Lisofsky@uke.de.
Nina
N
Lisofsky
Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom.
Jan
J
Wiener
Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom.
Olivier
O
de Condappa
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
Jürgen
J
Gallinat
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole, Italy.
Ulman
U
Lindenberger
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
Simone
S
Kühn
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011699:Putamen / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D065853:Spatial Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
Estrogen; Pregnancy; Spatial learning strategies; Striatum; sMRI