Prenatal maternal brain plasticity and associations with maternal and infant neurobehavioral health

SUMMARY Profound behavioral, emotional, and cognitive changes begin in pregnancy to prepare for the transition to parenthood, underscored by plasticity in maternal brain structure and function. Translational research emphasizes evolutionarily conserved adaptation as occurring in this period, though little is known about plasticity of the human maternal brain during pregnancy. Advancing this knowledge is a public health imperative given the prevalence and severity of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), which frequently originate in the prenatal period. Consequences of PMADs are enduring and costly, and carry intergenerational consequences through their impact on infant development, yet very little is known about their neural bases. What is known: A small number of studies document anatomical change in the brain from pre-pregnancy to the postpartum. Associations between iron and mood are established, and maternal iron in pregnancy is a known predictor of offspring neurobehavioral development. Furthermore, brain iron is emerging as a key factor underlying neuroplastic processes across the life course. Iron deficiency affects up to 40% of women in the US, and in pregnancy iron demands are significantly heightened. PMADs also increase risk of developmental disorders and psychiatric problems in children, though mechanisms for risk transmission are poorly understood. What is unknown: Neuroimaging studies conducted during pregnancy are rare, so trajectories of brain changes during pregnancy, across multiple domains, have yet to be examined. Further, how brain plasticity relates to PMAD symptoms is also unknown, constraining potential for clinical translation in this emerging area. Brain iron changes in pregnancy and its relevance to PMADs have yet to be examined. The goal of the proposed research is to determine whether gestational neuroplasticity underlies individual differences in maternal mental health and influences offspring neural development. We will conduct multi-modal MRI in a sample of n=132 women at 2 prenatal and one postpartum time point, measuring PMAD symptoms until 6 months postpartum, and complete rigorous assessment of offspring neurodevelopment including infant fMRI. Novel eye tracking technology will be used to collect objective measures of emerging infant attentional processing. We will address 3 key aims: (1) Quantify maternal gestational neural change using an integrated multimodal imaging approach; (2) Isolate associations between gestational neuroplasticity and PMAD symptoms; and (3) Determine whether maternal neuroplasticity and brain iron, measured via novel quantitative MRI sequences, are associated with infant neurodevelopment. Expected outcomes are significant as they will advance the field beyond documentation of expected neuroplasticity and towards understanding of clinically meaningful implications of individual differences in change, significantly advancing understanding of PMAD etiology. Project Number: 1R01MH140431-01A1 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) | Principal Investigator: Clare McCormack (+1 co-PI) | Institution: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NEW YORK, NY | Award Amount: $771,272 | Activity Code: R01 | Study Section: Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress and Health Study Section[MESH] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11320106