Effect of Childbirth Experience on Cognitive Performance and Event-Related Potential Patterns

Mi-Hyun Choi,Hyun-Kyung Park,Soon-Cheol Chung,Hyun-Jun Kim,Jin-Ju Jung,Je-Hyeop Lee

doi:10.3390/app11073233

Mi-Hyun Choi, Hyun-Kyung Park + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073233

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Abstract

This study aimed to compare the cognitive performance and event-related potential (ERP) patterns between females who have given birth (parous) and those who have not (nulliparous). A total of 50 female participants, including 27 who were parous (33.2 ± 3.2 years) and 23 who were nulliparous (30.8 ± 2.3 years), were recruited. Only parous females who were ≤36 months postpartum (17.7 ± 8.1 months) were included. To compare the cognitive performance between the two groups, we presented the 3-back task (a working memory task) and compared the accuracy rate (%) and reaction time (ms) between the groups. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were simultaneously recorded and the ERP patterns at Fz, Cz, and Pz, which are highly associated with the 3-back task, were analyzed. From the ERP patterns, we extracted N100, P300, P600, P300 peak-to-peak (P300p_p), and P600 peak-to-peak (P600p_p). There were no significant between-group differences in terms of accuracy rate, reaction time, or ERP components (N100, P300, P600, P300p_p, or P600p_p) at the three sites (Fz, Cz, and Pz). Since this study, using meaningful objective data, did not show that parity was significantly correlated with cognitive performance ability and ERP patterns, childbirth does not appear to influence cognitive decline.

Highlights

Accepted: 31 March 2021In self-report evaluations regarding the occurrence of depression after childbirth and the negative effects of pregnancy, difficulty concentrating and short-term memory loss, among other symptoms, were reported [1,2]
To better understand the effect of pregnancy on cognitive function, this study aimed to objectively show whether a decrease in cognitive performance occurs in women after childbirth
We evaluated the cognitive differences between parous and nulliparous females using the 3-back task and analyzed EEG data for electrophysiology

Summary

Introduction

In self-report evaluations regarding the occurrence of depression after childbirth and the negative effects of pregnancy, difficulty concentrating and short-term memory loss, among other symptoms, were reported [1,2]. Anxiety about the decline in cognitive function associated with pregnancy is thought to be due to an increase in psychological and physical stress [3]. Most previous studies have suggested that these symptoms can be explained by hormonal and cognitive changes that occur during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Hormones like oxytocin, estradiol, and cortisol, which vary greatly during pregnancy and childbirth, are known to induce cognitive changes [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12].

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