Mommy Brain Revisited

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Pascal Vrticka, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Essex. We talk about all thing’s attachment and neural synchrony in mother-child and father-child dyads.

We also talk about attachment parenting and how our beliefs about parenting can impact how our brain functions. Fascinating!

Don’t miss this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited. It will make you rethink about how the parental brain is working and why!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Kristina M. Deligiannidis, MD, Professor, Institute of Behavioral Science, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Director, Women’s Behavioral Health, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health, Professor, Psychiatry, Molecular Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, USA.

We talk about her research on the development of neurosteroid treatments for postpartum depression.

In particular we talk about her work on the new FDA approved oral medication for postpartum depression – Zuranolone as well as some practical information on Zuranolone, itself.

Don’t miss this episode on Mommy Brain Revisited. It’s an important one for understanding the current treatment options and challenges for perinatal mental illness.

For more information on Dr Deligiannidis’ work and her contact information see:

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Devaleena Pradhan, Associate Professor of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and Physiology at Idaho State University, USA.

We talk about fatherhood, the neural mechanisms mediating parenting, the origins of parenting behaviors and more.

We also talk about her research on parenting in sex-changing fish and what we can learn from them.

Don’t miss this episode. It will make you rethink sex/gender and parenting!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Tara Chaplin, Associate Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, USA. We talk about parenting, mindfulness, and the parental brain. We also talk about the importance of mindfulness in terms of parenting tweens and teens, how mindfulness helps empower parents to parent with intention (wow!), and her ongoing research in this area. Don’t miss this episode on Mommy Brain Revisited. It will make you want to be more mindful!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Robert Froemke, Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Skirball Professor of Genetics, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at New York University. We talk about oxytocin neurons, learning to parent and alloparenting. We also talk about the importance of experience with offspring, making mistakes, and ‘mouse midwifery’. Don’t miss this episode on Mommy Brain. So interesting!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Valerie Miller, a PhD candidate in Anthropology at Purdue University. We talk about her recent research on ‘Mommy Brain’ in the USA and the importance of studying how moms feel and the cultural factors that can influence mommy brain and motherhood.  You won't want to miss this episode!

Download the publication here: https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/etho.12381

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Elseline Hoekzema, Assistant Professor, Adult Psychiatry and Amsterdam Neuroscience at Amsterdam University Medical Centers. We talk about her recent research published Nature Communications on how pregnancy impacts brain structure and function. This is a fascinating area of research!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Margaret Bublitz, a Clinical Psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, and Medicine, in the Department of Psychiatry, at the Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University. 

We talk about her research on how child maltreatment early in life can modify the maternal brain in human mothers. We also talk about the need to support mothers, in general, and to talk more about the reality of motherhood. Such an interesting one you won’t want to miss!

For more information about Dr. Bublitz and her research see:

On this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited talk with Emma Jane Unsworth, British writer and bestselling author. We talk about her memoir After the Storm: Postnatal Depression and the Utter Weirdness of New Motherhood and what she did to prepare for her second pregnancy and postpartum experience.  This podcast episode is part of a collaboration with InSPIre the Mind – a digital magazine – where we have been doing a series on Maternal Mental Health. Listen to the podcast, read the book and check out the maternal mental health series. All are musts.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Amanda Kentner a Full Professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in the USA. We talk about her recent research published at eNeuro on the important role that enrichment can play in parenting and development. Don’t miss this episode on cutting edge research in behavioral neuroscience. So interesting!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Katherine M. Sharkey, an Associate Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry & Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University in the USA. We talk about her research on sleep in motherhood and how it is related to maternal mood disorders and breastfeeding. She also does some myth busting: Is poor sleep in pregnancy preparing you for the postpartum? Should you sleep when baby sleeps? Are new dads sleeping more? We talk a lot about getting our babies and kids to sleep but in this podcast it is all about parent’s sleep – how important it is and how to improve it.  You won’t want to miss this one!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Aya Dudin, a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience, supervised by Dr. Geoffrey Hall, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. We talk about her research on the neurobiology of Postpartum Depression and how it differs from that of Major Depression. We focus our discussion on her research in the Amygdala but we also talk about treatments for PPD, the importance of translational research to understand the uniqueness of maternal mental illnesses and the exciting role the gut-brain axis may play as a target for treatment for these disorders.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Larry Young, a William P. Timmie Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We talk about his research on the neuroscience of oxytocin and bonding. So interesting! We also talk about oxytocin’s role in the maternal brain, mental illness and child development. Hearing about this ancient maternal hormone is a must.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Prof Paola Dazzan, Professor of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Vice Dean (International) at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK. We talk about her research investigating the neurobiology of Postpartum Psychosis. So important! We talk about the biological basis of this debilitating disorder, treatment options and aims for future research.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Catherine Dulac, Higgins Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the USA. We talk about her research on neurons expressing galanin in the MPOA and their essential role in parenting behaviors in females and males. So interesting! We also talk about the potential role of these neurons in maternal mental illness and whether or not we should be using the word 'instinct' when we talk about parental behaviour. 

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Millie Rincón-Cortés, a Research Assistant Professor in Department of Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh in the USA. We talk about her research investigating VTA dopamine neuron activity in the postpartum maternal brain and its role in normative changes in postpartum mood and anxiety. We also talk about maternal separation from offspring, parental leave duration, and how much we need to know about how these effects can impact the maternal brain. Don’t miss this one!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Pilyoung Kim, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver in Colorado where she heads the Family and Child Neuroscience Lab. We jump right in to talk about our experiences with Mommy Brain and then we talk stress and motherhood. Dr Kim’s research investigates how life stress, such as socioeconomic status and poverty, affects the maternal brain and behavior. So important! We also talk about race, resilience, coping, cannabis, and the need for social policies to support mothers, and parents in general.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Benedetta Leuner who is an Associate Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at The Ohio State University in the USA.  We talk about her research investigating the neuroimmune changes in the maternal brain. So important! We talk about microglia changes during pregnancy and the postpartum, their role in neuroplasticity, mechanisms behind their changes, and the potential role of neuroimmune changes in maternal mental illnesses such as Postpartum Depression.  We also talk about our experiences with ‘Mommy Brain’ – 😊 .

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Winnie Orchard, a PhD candidate at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Her recent research focuses on parenthood and the aging brain in humans and she works under the supervision of Dr Sharna Jamadar. In this episode we talk about how parenting affects your brain and memory when you’re 70+ years old! We also talk about how these changes affect mothers and fathers differently and how the number of children you have may be related to these effects. So interesting!

Check out her Facebook page @maternalbrain

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr James Swain, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, at Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University in New York State, USA. We talk about his nearly 20 years of research on the human maternal brain and his current research on how opioid use disorder can alter the maternal brain and potentially behavior. [When we talk about opioid use disorder we’re often talking about prescription medications.]

We also talk about the Mom Power intervention and how interventions like this can change our maternal brains for the better.

If you’re struggling with opioid use please reach out for support. You are not alone. Treatment can help. Talk to you health care provider today.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Elseline Hoekzema, a senior neuroscientist at the Brain & Development Research Center, Leiden University, the Netherlands. We talk about her research investigating the effects of pregnancy on the human brain. Fascinating! We also talk about how amazing the maternal brain is, despite experiences with ‘mommy brain’ – and yes we both experienced it -, and to trust biology as it takes us through this transition into parenthood.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Oliver Bosch, Professor in the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine at the University of Regensburg, Germany. We talk about his recent research on partner loss and the maternal brain in relation to corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). We also talk about so much more – how fascinating the maternal brain is as well as single parenthood, social support, pregnancy loss and how much we need to know about how stressful events can impact the parental brain.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Liisa Galea, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Centre for Brain Health at The University of British Columbia, Canada. We talk about her recent research on maternal experience and its effect on the aging hippocampus. We also talk about other effects of motherhood on ageing, menopause, and the lack of funding for women’s health research. Let’s support maternal health research!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Christian Broberger, Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Stockholm University, Sweden. We talk about his recent research on electrical activity of TIDA neurons and their role in lactation. We talk dopamine, prolactin and a bit about oxytocin. Very interesting!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Valerie Miller, MA, a PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Purdue University in the USA. We talk about her recent research on attention in mothers during the postpartum and how it may relate to feelings of Mommy Brain as well as mental health. We also talk about the important role that community may have on being a mom. 

For more information on her research see: https://cla.purdue.edu/directory/profiles/valerie-miller.html 

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Professor Dave Grattan the Director of the Centre of Neuroendocrinology, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, New Zealand . We talk about his research on prolactin and motherhood.  Prolactin really is so much more than for lactation - It affects parental behaviors, mental health, food intake and so much more! Listen now, you don't want to miss this one. 

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Erica Glasper an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland at College Park, USA. We talk about her research on how fatherhood affects a dad's brain, particularly the hippocampus, and the importance of interacting with offspring on brain health.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr. Susanna Carmona from the Neuroimaging Centre in the Laboratory for Medical Imaging at the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Maranon in Madrid, Spain. We talk about her recent research on brain changes during the transition to motherhood (matrescence) and how significant these changes are – as significant as during adolescence. We also talk about what this means, what more we need to know about the brain with motherhood, fatherhood, maternal mental illness and effects of pregnancy loss. So many questions need answers!

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Professor Thierry Charlier at the Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail (Irset) at the Universitie de Rennes 1 (France) about his research on how glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, such as Roundup, affect maternal behavior, brain and microbiome.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Jamie Maguire an Associate Professor of Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University in the USA about her research on allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid, which formed the foundation for Zulresso (Sage Therapeutics) – the first unique treatment for Postpartum Depression. A great story from basic research in the maternal brain to clinical application.

In this episode of Mommy Brain Revisited I talk with Dr Joseph Lonstein a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University about his research on the neuroscience of postpartum anxiety and the importance of infant touch in modulating maternal feelings of anxiety.