Benign encephalopathy of pregnancy Preliminary clinical observations

Abstract

A survey of 67 pregnancies in 51 professional women (physicians, psychologists, nurses, administrators, etc.) revealed the occurrence of symptoms of cognitive dysfunction such as forgetfulness, disorientation, confusion and reading difficulties in 28 pregnancies occurring in 21 women. These were unrelated to such factors as age of delivery, percentage weight gain, the baby's sex or birth weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, a history of migraine or allergy or other symptoms occurring during pregnancy such as sleepiness and lack of concentration, irritability, loss of interest in job or nightmares. Nor was there any correlation with hypertension, proteinuria, glycosuria, ketonuria, anemia, or morning sickness. Furthermore, these cognitive disturbances were not related to depression or sleep deprivation.Address Charles M. Poser, M.D.

Changes in anxiety and cognition due to reproductive experience: A review of data from rodent and human mothers

“…Many clinical studies support the idea of ''pregnancy brain'', with decreased performance on tasks testing various types of memory during pregnancy, including visual memory (Silber et al, 1990), explicit memory (Silber et al, 1990;Sharp et al, 1993;Keenan et al, 1998;Buckwalter et al, 1999;de Groot et al, 2006), implicit memory (Brindle et al, 1991;Sharp et al, 1993), working memory Janes et al, 1999), and attentional processes (Poser et al, 1986;Buckwalter et al, 1999). Furthermore, pregnant women subjectively rate themselves as having poorer memory than control, non-pregnant women (Brindle et al, 1991;Sharp et al, 1993;Casey et al, 1999;Janes et al, 1999;Crawley et al, 2003), indicating an awareness of the deficits, particularly on tests of working memory.…”

“…However, many studies examining memory during pregnancy and in the postpartum period control for sleep loss/fatigue, and find no correlation between sleep loss and memory (e.g. Poser et al, 1986;Keenan et al, 1998;Casey et al, 1999; but see Janes et al, 1999), mostly eliminating sleep as a factor in memory task performance.…”

Exposure to Prenatal Psychobiological Stress Exerts Programming Influences on the Mother and Her Fetus

“…Estimates of the percent of women who report impaired cognitive function during pregnancy range from 48 to 81% [148,149]. A recent meta-analysis of 17 relatively small studies published over the last decade indicated deficits in two components of memory during pregnancy: recall memory (both immediate and delayed) and the executive component of working memory [150].…”

Emotional memory in pregnant women at risk for postpartum depression

“…Another possibility explored in the literature is that low mood and anxiety may negatively affect memory since these have also been reported during pregnancy (Jarrahi-Zadeh, Kane, Van De Castle, Lachenbrunch, & Ewing, 1969;Keenan et al, 1998;Buckwalter et al, 2001). The literature appears to be inconsistent again, with some studies concluding that the mood changes that occur during pregnancy are related to subjective (Gross & Pattison, 1994;Morris, Toms, Easthope, & Biddulph, 1998) and objective reports (Jarrahi-Zadeh et al, 1969) of cognitive deficits, and others finding that mood changes do not relate to either subjective or objective reports (Poser, Kassirer, & Peyser, 1986;Keenan et al, 1998;Buckwalter et al, 1999;Vanston & Watson, 2005). This contradictory evidence leaves the question open as to whether or not mood fluctuations are an adequate explanation for the cognitive deficits pregnant women experience.…”