A 2017 study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience showed that pregnant women lose gray matter in areas of the brain that deal with people’s feelings and nonverbal signals. However, the loss, rather than diminishing this area of brain processing, appears to make it more efficient, enabling improved interpretation of their babies’ needs and emotions, and therefore increasing their maternal attachment.⁠ ⁠ Due to the time frame of the study, which was conducted by researchers in the Netherlands and Spain, it is not known whether the effects are permanent or temporary.⁠ During the study, a group of fathers and first-time mothers had MRI scans before pregnancy and after giving birth. While the brains of the fathers remained unchanged, the study’s authors said, the scans of the mothers showed a loss of gray matter.⁠ ⁠ "Loss of volume does not necessarily translate to loss of function," Elseline Hoekzema, co-lead author of the study and a senior brain scientist at Leiden University in ...