Motherhood can supercharge the female brain, giving lifelong improvements in mental skills and giving protection against the degenerative diseases of old age, reports Dr. Kinsley in a new study to be at the Society of Neuroscience. The researchers said: “Pregnant women do undergo a phase of so-called baby brain, when they experience an apparent loss of function,” said Craig Kinsley, professor of neuroscience at the University of Richmond, Virginia. However, this is because their brains are being remodeled for motherhood to cope with the many new demands they will experience. ”The changes that kick in then could last for the rest of their lives, bolstering cognitive abilities and protecting them against degenerative diseases.”

Gender differences in language appear biological, according to a new study at Northwestern University. They show both that areas of the brain associated with language work harder in girls than in boys during language tasks, and that boys and girls rely on different parts of the brain when performing these tasks.

The findings suggest that language processing is more sensory in boys and more abstract in girls. This could have major implications for teaching children and even provide support for single sex classrooms or more attention by teachers on learning-styles in girls and boys for some subjects.

Breast-feeding does help mothers bond with their babies, according to a new study led by Warwick University researchers. Breast-feeding releases oxytocin (a happy hormone) in the brain, creating stronger links between nerve cells, the study says. Read the laymen’s version in the Daily Mail or the original abstract in the Public Library of Science Computational Biology journal. 

Spotted on: TangoMag

A recent report from the Council on Contemporary Families has some women excited about the prospect of leaving their husbands at home with the dishes and diapers for a night out with pals or some extra time for brownie points at the office, but it’s reasonable to be somewhat weary of this trend. I remember plenty of men in the 1970s who mastered the art of spouting feminist principles when they realized that they’d make a more desirable mate (and get laid more often!) if they purported to care about the things women said they valued.   (more…)

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When I read this excellent New York Times magazine story on “Adventures in Equal Parenting,” I recalled the days when my then-boyfriend and I were in medical school and we were adamant that 50-50 tag-team parenting was going to be our strategy. Interestingly, however, when my son was born we were in for a big shock, as he unequivocally preferred the adult with the breasts—me!  So much for 50-50 in those early months.  (more…)