In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited, I talk with Dr Silvana Valtcheva, a Junior Group Leader at University of Cologne in the Faculty of Medicine, about her recent work on oxytocin and it’s role in the maternal brain and behaviour.

For more about Dr Valtcheva’s research see: www.valtchevalab.com

Paper we talk about: Valtcheva S*#, Issa HA*, Bair-Marshall CJ, Martin KA, Jung K, Zhang Y, Kwon HB, Froemke RC#, Neural circuitry for maternal oxytocin release induced by infant cries. 2023 Nature. Sep;621(7980):788-795. (*co-first author; #co-corresponding author)

music: "All In My Head" by Luna Wave from Soundstripe

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited, I talk with Dr Darby Saxbe, Professor of Psychology at USC Dornslife.

We talk about her recent work on how brain changes in fathers may reflect parenting engagement and mental health risk. Fascinating!

For more about Dr Saxbe see https://dornsife.usc.edu/nestlab/current-members/

Her book ‘Dad Brain’ will be out in 2026! Can't wait!

Paper we talk about: Saxbe D, Martínez-García M. Cortical volume reductions in men transitioning to first-time fatherhood reflect both parenting engagement and mental health risk. Cereb Cortex. 2024 Apr 1;34(4):bhae126. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhae126. PMID: 38615244.

For more about Jodi Pawluski see www.jodipawluski.com.

music: All In My Head - Luna Wave via Soundstripe

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Susana Carmona, Research Scientist at the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón in Madrid, Spain.

We talk about her recent research on how a mother’s brain changes from late pregnancy to the early postpartum published in Nature Neuroscience early this year.

Fascinating research and the first of its kind!

For more about Dr Carmona see: https://neuromaternal.es/

Her book is available in Spanish and titled: Neuromaternal: ¿Qué le pasa a mi cerebro durante el embarazo y la maternidad?.

For our episode together on Matrescence and Adolescence see episode 6 here.

Paper we talk about: Paternina-Die, M., Martínez-García, M., Martín de Blas, D. et al. Women’s neuroplasticity during gestation, childbirth and postpartum. Nat Neurosci 27, 319–327 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01513-2⁠ Link to paper⁠

Music: Luna Wave via Soundstripe

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Nicolas Renier, the Team Leader of the Laboratory of Structural Plasticity at the Paris Brain Institute.

We talk about his work on the neural mechanisms modulating nest building in mice during pregnancy. A fascinating study with amazing neuroscience techniques.

We also talk about the value of using pregnancy as a model to understand neurophysiological processes, the important role of pregnancy in remodeling certain parts of the brain, what progesterone can do to neurons and more. Fascinating!

For more about Dr Renier see: www.renier-lab.com

Link to paper

Paper citation: Topilko T, Diaz SL, Pacheco CM, Verny F, Rousseau CV, Kirst C, Deleuze C, Gaspar P, Renier N. Edinger-Westphal peptidergic neurons enable maternal preparatory nesting. Neuron. 2022 Apr 20;110(8):1385-1399.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.01.012. Epub 2022 Feb 4. PMID: 35123655; PMCID: PMC9090132.

Music: Luna Wave via Soundstripe

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Danielle Stolzenberg, an Associate Professor at UC Davis, about the nonhormonal basis of parenting, modelling perinatal mental illness, and the 51 Foundation which she started.

We also talk about the need to understand current treatments for perinatal mental illness (particularly SSRIs) and the importance of funding research in females. Yes!

For more information on Dr Stolzenberg see https://psychology.ucdavis.edu/people/dstolzen

Here is a link to the paper that we talk about: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34674243/

Paper citation: Rosinger ZJ, Mayer HS, Geyfen JI, Orser MK, Stolzenberg DS. Ethologically relevant repeated acute social stress induces maternal neglect in the lactating female mouse. Dev Psychobiol. 2021 Nov;63(7):e22173. doi: 10.1002/dev.22173. PMID: 34674243; PMCID: PMC10631567.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Maria Muzik and Dr. Katherine Rosenblum about Mom Power, a parenting intervention they developed, and how it impacts parents and the parental brain. Both are Professors in the Departments Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology, as well as Co-Directors of Zero To Thrive & Women and Infant Mental Health Program at the University of Michigan.

We talk about the development of Mom Power, it’s core components and the research supporting the importance of this group intervention. We also talk about attachment, the importance of nature, and building ‘strong roots’.

It was an honor to speak with these two inspiring clinician-scientists. If you work with parents, this episode is a must.

For more information on Mom Power and Zero to Thrive, including research and training opportunities see: https://zerotothrive.org/

Here is a link to the paper on the parental brain that we talk about: https://zerotothrive.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Frontiers-Mom-Power.pdf