Attention Study Explores How Long "Mommy Brain" Lasts / Lo studio di attenzione esplora quanto dura il "cervello della mamma"
Attention Study Explores How Long "Mommy Brain" Lasts / Lo studio di attenzione esplora quanto dura il "cervello della mamma"
Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa / Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa
A new study by anthropologists at Purdue University shows that mothers are equally as attentive as, or more attentive than, non-mothers. / Un nuovo studio condotto dagli antropologi della Purdue University mostra che le madri sono altrettanto attente o più attente delle non madri. (Photo by Unsplash)
"Mommy brain" is a long-held perception that mothers are more forgetful and less attentive.
"In most studies, however, attention and memory tests are given to mothers very early postpartum," said Valerie Tucker Miller, a Ph.D. student in Purdue University's Department of Anthropology department. Miller is studying the effects of motherhood on attention, memory and other psychological processes.
"There are few issues with that," she added. "When you first have a child, you have a cascade of hormones and sleep deprivation that might be affecting attention and memory processes in the brain."
In a new study testing the prevalence of "mommy brain," Miller used a revised version of the Attention Network Test (ANT), called the ANT-R, to compare reaction times among 60 mothers, all of whom were at least one year postpartum, and 70 non-mothers. The results, published online in the journal Current Psychology, show that mothers performed equally as well or better compared with women who had never been pregnant or had children.
"For this particular study, we recruited moms who were past that first year postpartum because we wanted to see the long-term effects of maternity," she said. "Overall, moms did not have significantly different attention than non-mothers, so we did not find evidence to support 'mommy brain' as our culture understands it. It's possible, if anything, that maternity is related to improved, rather than diminished, attentiveness."
Co-author Amanda Veile, an assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue, said the mixed-method study may be the first to investigate the long-term effects of biological motherhood on real-life attention network functioning. Lisa A. VanWormer, a Purdue University alumna and visiting associate professor of psychology at St. Norbert College, also is a co-author.
Researchers used a seven-point scale to measure participants' responses to survey questions such as, "How sleepy do you feel?" and "How do you think your attentiveness is?" Women's perceived attention functioning was strongly associated with their tested attention scores, regardless of motherhood status, Veile said.
"This means that women have accurate awareness of their cognitive state, and that their concerns regarding their perceived attentional functioning should be taken seriously," she said. "We also believe that 'mommy-brain' may be a culture-bound phenomenon, and that mothers will feel the most distracted and forgetful when they feel stressed, overextended and unsupported. Unfortunately, many U.S. moms feel this way, especially now in the midst of economic and political instability and pandemic."
During the computer test, a cue box flashes for 100 milliseconds in one of two possible locations where a target image will appear on the screen. Next, an image of five arrows, each pointing left or right in consistent or conflicting directions, flashes on the screen for 500 milliseconds. Participants are then asked to press a button that corresponds to the direction of only the middle arrow.
Miller said the test measures response times and provides scores for the three main networks of attention: The alerting network helps the brain prepare for incoming stimuli; the orienting network directs the brain's attention to something new; and the executive control network helps resolve conflicting information.
Mothers in the study were, on average, 10 years older than non-mothers. Even after controlling for age, however, the researchers found that mothers had similar alerting and orienting attention, and better executive control attention, compared to non-mothers.
"Moms were not as distracted by those outside, incongruent items," Miller said. "It makes perfect sense that moms who have brought children into this world have more stimuli that needs to be processed to keep themselves and other humans alive, and then to continue with all the other tasks that were required before the children."
Heightened attention isn't always a good thing. It could become amplified with feelings of stress and isolation, which many U.S. moms experience, causing them to develop anxiety, Veile said.
"We plan to do cross-cultural investigations to further examine how narratives of motherhood and social support are associated with maternal tested attention and well-being around the world," she said.
"In most studies, however, attention and memory tests are given to mothers very early postpartum," said Valerie Tucker Miller, a Ph.D. student in Purdue University's Department of Anthropology department. Miller is studying the effects of motherhood on attention, memory and other psychological processes.
"There are few issues with that," she added. "When you first have a child, you have a cascade of hormones and sleep deprivation that might be affecting attention and memory processes in the brain."
In a new study testing the prevalence of "mommy brain," Miller used a revised version of the Attention Network Test (ANT), called the ANT-R, to compare reaction times among 60 mothers, all of whom were at least one year postpartum, and 70 non-mothers. The results, published online in the journal Current Psychology, show that mothers performed equally as well or better compared with women who had never been pregnant or had children.
"For this particular study, we recruited moms who were past that first year postpartum because we wanted to see the long-term effects of maternity," she said. "Overall, moms did not have significantly different attention than non-mothers, so we did not find evidence to support 'mommy brain' as our culture understands it. It's possible, if anything, that maternity is related to improved, rather than diminished, attentiveness."
Co-author Amanda Veile, an assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue, said the mixed-method study may be the first to investigate the long-term effects of biological motherhood on real-life attention network functioning. Lisa A. VanWormer, a Purdue University alumna and visiting associate professor of psychology at St. Norbert College, also is a co-author.
Researchers used a seven-point scale to measure participants' responses to survey questions such as, "How sleepy do you feel?" and "How do you think your attentiveness is?" Women's perceived attention functioning was strongly associated with their tested attention scores, regardless of motherhood status, Veile said.
"This means that women have accurate awareness of their cognitive state, and that their concerns regarding their perceived attentional functioning should be taken seriously," she said. "We also believe that 'mommy-brain' may be a culture-bound phenomenon, and that mothers will feel the most distracted and forgetful when they feel stressed, overextended and unsupported. Unfortunately, many U.S. moms feel this way, especially now in the midst of economic and political instability and pandemic."
During the computer test, a cue box flashes for 100 milliseconds in one of two possible locations where a target image will appear on the screen. Next, an image of five arrows, each pointing left or right in consistent or conflicting directions, flashes on the screen for 500 milliseconds. Participants are then asked to press a button that corresponds to the direction of only the middle arrow.
Miller said the test measures response times and provides scores for the three main networks of attention: The alerting network helps the brain prepare for incoming stimuli; the orienting network directs the brain's attention to something new; and the executive control network helps resolve conflicting information.
Mothers in the study were, on average, 10 years older than non-mothers. Even after controlling for age, however, the researchers found that mothers had similar alerting and orienting attention, and better executive control attention, compared to non-mothers.
"Moms were not as distracted by those outside, incongruent items," Miller said. "It makes perfect sense that moms who have brought children into this world have more stimuli that needs to be processed to keep themselves and other humans alive, and then to continue with all the other tasks that were required before the children."
Heightened attention isn't always a good thing. It could become amplified with feelings of stress and isolation, which many U.S. moms experience, causing them to develop anxiety, Veile said.
"We plan to do cross-cultural investigations to further examine how narratives of motherhood and social support are associated with maternal tested attention and well-being around the world," she said.
ITALIANO
"Mommy brain" è una percezione di lunga data secondo cui le madri sono più smemorate e meno attente.
"Nella maggior parte degli studi, tuttavia, i test di attenzione e memoria sono eseguiti alle madri molto presto dopo il parto", ha dichiarato Valerie Tucker Miller, un dottorato di ricerca. studente nel dipartimento di antropologia della Purdue University. Miller sta studiando gli effetti della maternità su attenzione, memoria e altri processi psicologici.
"Ci sono alcuni problemi con questo", ha aggiunto. "Quando hai un figlio per la prima volta, hai una cascata di ormoni e privazione del sonno che potrebbero influenzare i processi di attenzione e memoria nel cervello."
In un nuovo studio che ha testato la prevalenza del "cervello della mamma", Miller ha usato una versione rivista dell'Attention Network Test (ANT), chiamato ANT-R, per confrontare i tempi di reazione tra 60 madri, che erano tutte almeno un anno dopo il parto e 70 non madri. I risultati, pubblicati online sulla rivista Current Psychology, mostrano che le madri si sono comportate allo stesso modo o meglio rispetto alle donne che non erano mai state incinte o avevano avuto figli.
"Per questo particolare studio, abbiamo reclutato le mamme che avevano passato quel primo anno dopo il parto perché volevamo vedere gli effetti a lungo termine della maternità", ha detto. "Nel complesso, le mamme non avevano un'attenzione significativamente diversa rispetto alle non madri, quindi non abbiamo trovato prove a sostegno del" cervello della mamma "come la nostra cultura lo comprende. È possibile, semmai, che la maternità sia correlata al miglioramento, piuttosto che alla diminuzione, di attenzione."
La coautrice Amanda Veile, assistente professore di antropologia a Purdue, ha affermato che lo studio a metodo misto potrebbe essere il primo a studiare gli effetti a lungo termine della maternità biologica sul funzionamento della rete di attenzione nella vita reale. Anche Lisa A. VanWormer, ex-alunna della Purdue University e professore associato di psicologia presso il St. Norbert College, è coautrice.
I ricercatori hanno utilizzato una scala di sette punti per misurare le risposte dei partecipanti a domande del sondaggio come "Quanto assonnato?" e "Come pensi che sia la tua attenzione?" Il funzionamento dell'attenzione percepita dalle donne era fortemente associato ai loro punteggi dell'attenzione testati, indipendentemente dallo stato di maternità, ha affermato Veile.
"Ciò significa che le donne hanno un'accurata consapevolezza del loro stato cognitivo e che le loro preoccupazioni riguardo al loro funzionamento attenzionale percepito dovrebbero essere prese sul serio", ha detto. "Riteniamo inoltre che il" cervello della mamma "possa essere un fenomeno legato alla cultura e che le madri si sentiranno le più distratte e smemorate quando si sentiranno stressate, estese e non supportate. Sfortunatamente, molte mamme statunitensi si sentono in questo modo, specialmente ora nel mezzo all'instabilità economica e politica e alla pandemia. "
Durante il test del computer, una stecca lampeggia per 100 millisecondi in una delle due posizioni possibili in cui un'immagine di destinazione apparirà sullo schermo. Successivamente, un'immagine di cinque frecce, ciascuna rivolta verso sinistra o destra in direzioni coerenti o contrastanti, lampeggia sullo schermo per 500 millisecondi. Ai partecipanti viene quindi chiesto di premere un pulsante che corrisponde alla direzione della sola freccia centrale.
Miller ha affermato che il test misura i tempi di risposta e fornisce punteggi per le tre principali reti di attenzione: la rete di allerta aiuta il cervello a prepararsi per gli stimoli in arrivo; la rete di orientamento dirige l'attenzione del cervello verso qualcosa di nuovo; e la rete di controllo esecutivo aiuta a risolvere le informazioni in conflitto.
Le madri nello studio avevano, in media, 10 anni più grandi delle non madri. Anche dopo aver controllato per età, tuttavia, i ricercatori hanno scoperto che le madri avevano un'attenzione simile di allarme e orientamento e una migliore attenzione del controllo esecutivo, rispetto alle non madri.
"Le mamme non erano così distratte da quelle cose fuori, incongruenti", ha detto Miller. "Ha perfettamente senso che le mamme che hanno portato i bambini in questo mondo abbiano più stimoli che devono essere elaborati per mantenere se stessi e gli altri umani in vita, e quindi per continuare con tutti gli altri compiti richiesti prima dei bambini."
Una maggiore attenzione non è sempre una buona cosa. Potrebbe essere amplificato da sentimenti di stress e isolamento, che molte mamme statunitensi provano, causando loro di sviluppare ansia, ha detto Veile.
"Abbiamo in programma di svolgere indagini interculturali per esaminare ulteriormente come le narrazioni della maternità e il sostegno sociale siano associati all'attenzione e al benessere materni testati in tutto il mondo", ha affermato.
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