Pregnancy may confer a selective cognitive advantage

Christensen, Helen; Poyser, Carmel; Pollitt, P. A.; Cubis, Jeff

doi:10.1080/02646839908404581

Cited by 35 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The majority of previous studies have asked only for ratings of general memory ability (Brindle et al, 1991;Casey et al, 1999;Christensen et al, 1999;Janes et al, 1999;McDowell and Moriarty, 2000;Sharp et al, 1993). Those that have examined other aspects of cognition Kane et al, 1968;Parsons and Redman, 1991;Poser et al, 1986) have shown that in addition to memory difficulties, some pregnant women also report increased absentmindedness and impairments in concentration, reading ability and clarity of thought.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Welch, 1991). Evidence for such an impairment has not always been forthcoming from studies using objective measures of cognitive performance (Christensen et al, 1999) and sometimes the evidence has been contradictory (Brindle et al, 1991;McDowell and Moriarty, 2000;Sharp et al, 1993;Janes et al, 1999). Even where measurable changes have been apparent, the performance of the pregnant women is still often within the normal range Keenan et al, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, studies in which women rate their cognitive abilities in pregnancy compared with their usual performance show that many perceive a decline during pregnancy (e.g. Brindle et al, 1991;Casey et al, 1999;Christensen et al, 1999;Janes et al, 1999;McDowell and Moriarty, 2000;Parsons and Redman, 1991;Poser et al, 1986;Sharp et al, 1993). Yet it is not clear how salient these changes are in the overall context of the many changes accompanying pregnancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐perception of cognitive changes during pregnancy and the early postpartum: salience and attentional effects

Crawley

2002

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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The reports from 198 pregnant women of changes experienced during pregnancy suggested that cognitive changes are not salient since only 2% of women spontaneously mentioned such changes. When asked specifically about cognitive changes, the majority reported no change although most who reported a change indicated it was for the worse. In this respect they differed from a group of 132 students who had recently left home. In a second study, 13 women were asked to rate a range of cognitive functions during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Their ratings for certain aspects of cognition were lower than those of a group of non-pregnant women. They also reported more cognitive failures and readily provided examples of perceived impairments in cognition. It would appear that cognitive deficits are of low salience to pregnant women but, if prompted, impairments in memory, concentration, clarity of thought and attention will be reported by women both during pregnancy and the first-year postpartum.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐perception of cognitive changes during pregnancy and the early postpartum: salience and attentional effects

Crawley

2002

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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“…Others have failed to find any differences in scores on objective measures of cognitive functions during pregnancy and postpartum (Casey, 2000;Christensen, Poyser, Pollitt, & Cubis, 1999;Crawley, Dennison, & Carter, 2003;Harris, Deary, Harris Marlene, Lees, & Wilson, 1996;McDowall, 2000), even though participants often reported subjective cognitive difficulties (Christensen et al, 1999;Crawley et al, 2003;McDowall, 2000). It has been suggested that testing in a laboratory setting may underestimate the degree of impairment experienced in day-to-day life (Cuttler, Graf, Pawluski, & Galea, 2011;Rendell & Henry, 2008;).…”

Section: Cihr Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, impairments on word list learning tasks have been observed during different trimesters and at postpartum (de Groot, Vuurman, Hormstra, & Jolles, 2006; Mickes, Wixted, Sha piro, & Scarff, 2009;Parsons et al, 2004). Furthermore, perfor mance on paragraph recall (Keenan, Yaldoo, Stress, Fuerst, & Ginsburg, 1998), planning (Jarrahi-Zadeh, Kane, Van De Castle, Lachenbruch, & Ewing, 1969), and cognitive speed tasks (Chris tensen, Leach, & Mackinnon, 2010) was worse only in the third trimester.Others have failed to find any differences in scores on objective measures of cognitive functions during pregnancy and postpartum (Casey, 2000;Christensen, Poyser, Pollitt, & Cubis, 1999;Crawley, Dennison, & Carter, 2003;Harris, Deary, Harris Marlene, Lees, & Wilson, 1996;McDowall, 2000), even though participants often reported subjective cognitive difficulties (Christensen et al, 1999;Crawley et al, 2003;McDowall, 2000). It has been suggested that testing in a laboratory setting may underestimate the degree of impairment experienced in day-to-day life (Cuttler, Graf, Pawluski, & Galea, 2011;Rendell & Henry, 2008;).…”

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confidence: 99%

Hormones and cognitive functioning during late pregnancy and postpartum: A longitudinal study.

Henry¹,

Sherwin²

2012

Behavioral Neuroscience

143

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This longitudinal study investigated the possible influence of estradiol (E 2 ), progesterone (P), testosterone (T), cortisol (CORT), and prolactin (PRL) levels on cognitive functioning during late pregnancy and the early postpartum period. The performance of 55 pregnant women on a battery of neuropsychological tests, tested once during the third trimester of pregnancy and once during the early postpartum period, was compared with that of 21 nonpregnant controls matched for age and education. Women in the pregnancy group had significantly lower scores than the controls during both the pre-and postpartum visits on tasks of verbal recall and processing speed. CORT levels were significantly associated, in an inverted-U function, with verbal recall scores at both the pregnancy and at postpartum periods and with spatial abilities at postpartum only. During pregnancy, PRL levels were associated in both a linear and an inverted-U function with scores on tests of paragraph recall and in a linear function with scores on tests of executive function. At postpartum, E 2 and CORT were negatively associated in a linear fashion with attention scores. These findings provide new evidence that fluctuating hormone levels during late pregnancy and early postpartum may modulate selected cognitive abilities. Keywords pregnancy; postpartum; cognition; steroid hormones; prolactin During pregnancy and the postpartum periods, a considerable number of women experience some degree of cognitive change that has come to be colloquially called "pregnancy brain." The symptoms most frequently reported by women during these repro ductive periods are forgetfulness and memory disturbances , poor concentration, increased absentmindedness, and difficulty reading (Parsons & Redman, 1991;Poser, Kassirer, & Peyser, 1986).The pregnancy and postpartum periods are characterized by the most drastic hormonal fluctuations women experience during their reproductive lives. During pregnancy, levels of some steroid hormones such as estradiol (E 2 ) and progesterone (P) increase by up to 30-and 70-fold, respectively, in comparison to nonpregnant levels (Tulchinsky, Hobel, Yeager, & Marshall, 1972 CIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript80% of placental steroids in the maternal circulation (Bonnar, Franklin, Nott, & McNeilly, 1975;West & McNeilly, 1979). Key steroid hormones affected in this manner are E 2 , P, and cortisol (CORT; Bonnar et al., 1975;Willcox, Yovich, McColm, & Phillips, 1985). Other hormones which fluctuate during these periods are testosterone (T) and prolactin (PRL;Bonnar et al., 1975;Pearlman, Crépy, & Murphy, 1967).Under nonstressful conditions, CORT levels follow a circadian rhythm characterized by highest levels in the morning after awakening followed by a steady decline throughout the day; lowest levels around midnight and a rise again in the early morning hours (Edwards, Evans, Hucklebridge, & Clow, 2001;Weitzman et al., 1971). A distinct feature of the CORT circadian cycle is a marked increase in secret...

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Cognitive changes in pregnancy: mild decline or societal stereotype?

Crawley

Grant

Hinshaw

2008

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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This research compared pregnant and non-pregnant women's perceptions of cognitive change and their performance on 13 sensitive memory and attention tasks (Study 1) and two complex driving simulation tasks (Study 2). The pregnant, but not the non-pregnant, women rated their cognitive abilities as worse than before, but only two performance measures from Study 1 differentiated the two groups (speed of language processing and attentional switching). Study 3 examined beliefs about pregnancy-related cognitive decline. Women and men with and without immediate experience of pregnancy rated pregnant women's cognitive abilities as slightly worse than before pregnancy. Memory ratings were worse from women and from those with immediate experience of pregnancy. It is concluded that there may be some mild effects of pregnancy on performance of some specific cognitive functions but that cultural expectations based on a stereotype of cognitive decline also contribute to pregnant women's perception of cognitive change.

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Pregnancy may confer a selective cognitive advantage

Cited by 35 publications

References 19 publications

Self‐perception of cognitive changes during pregnancy and the early postpartum: salience and attentional effects

Self‐perception of cognitive changes during pregnancy and the early postpartum: salience and attentional effects

Hormones and cognitive functioning during late pregnancy and postpartum: A longitudinal study.

Cognitive changes in pregnancy: mild decline or societal stereotype?

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