Dopamine drives persistent remodelling of the maternal brain
A recent study highlights the role of dopamine in the long-term remodeling of the maternal brain following pregnancy and postpartum experiences. Researchers identified the dorsal hippocampal formation as a key area affected by reproductive experiences, with chronic postpartum stress disrupting dopamine dynamics. The findings suggest that dopamine is crucial for sustaining behavioral adaptations associated with motherhood in both humans and mice.
- ▪The study used brain-wide transcriptomic profiling to explore neuroplasticity induced by reproductive experience.
- ▪Chronic postpartum stress was found to disrupt adaptations in the dorsal hippocampal formation by altering dopamine dynamics.
- ▪Dopamine modulation was established as sufficient for regulating adaptations related to reproductive experience.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Download PDF Article Open access Published: 20 May 2026 Dopamine drives persistent remodelling of the maternal brain Jennifer C. O’Chan ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4365-58891, Giuseppina Di Salvo ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0001-6948-46191,2, Ashley M. Cunningham1, Sohini Dutta1, Elizabeth Brindley1, Benjamin H. Weekley ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4550-59881, Winnie Chen1, Rasika R. Iyer ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0002-5174-54431, Ethan Wan ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3043-61153, Cindy Zhang1, Naguib Mechawar ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4960-756X4, Gustavo Turecki ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4075-27364 & …Ian Maze ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1490-77811,5,6 Show authors Nature (2026) Cite this article 4569 Accesses 51 Altmetric Metrics details Subjects Epigenetics and behaviourMolecular neuroscience…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Nature.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Nature
