ReviewFrontiers in neuroendocrinology2020
Adaptations in reward-related behaviors and mesolimbic dopamine function during motherhood and the postpartum period.
Review in Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed.
- Altered striatal dopamine regulation in Adgrl3 knockout mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Postpartum enhancement of spatial learning and cognitive flexibility: an IntelliCage study.Behavioral and brain functions : BBF · 2026Article
- Mesolimbic dopamine signaling mediates increased hedonic feeding and food seeking in lactating mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Multisystem regulation of reward and addiction: beyond the dopaminergic system.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Psychedelic therapy and postpartum depression: priorities and prospects.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Neuroendocrine Regulation and Neural Circuitry of Parenthood: Integrating Neuropeptides, Brain Receptors, and Maternal Behavior.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- How dopamine guides our social world.Pharmacological reviews · 2025Review
- Dopamine dynamics underlying maternal motivation and reward.Neuroscience research · 2025Review
- Female rats exposed to early life scarcity-adversity are resilient to later life changes in maternal behavior.Hormones and behavior · 2025Article
- Interactions of sex and stress in modulation of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic activity.Current opinion in behavioral sciences · 2025Article
- Gestational stress disrupts dopamine and oxytocin signaling in the postpartum reward system of rats: implications for mood, motivation and mothering.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Mothering matters: Towards a better understanding of disrupted infant-caregiver relationships in both mother and offspring.Neurobiology of stress · 2025Review
- The neurobiology of parenting and infant-evoked aggression.Physiological reviews · 2025Review
- Failure in the mother-young communication in domestic mammals: endocrine and behavioral aspects.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Review
- Stress-induced modulation of maternal behavior and mesolimbic dopamine function.Current opinion in behavioral sciences · 2024Article
- Hormonal Actions in the Medial Preoptic Area Governing Parental Behavior: Novel Insights From New Tools.Endocrinology · 2024Review
- Review
- Review
- Re-wiring of the bonded brain: Gene expression among pair bonded female prairie voles changes as they transition to motherhood.Genes, brain, and behavior · 2024Article
- Effects of reproductive experience on cost-benefit decision making in female rats.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2024Article
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Initiation and maintenance of maternal behavior is driven by a complex interaction between the physiology of parturition and offspring stimulation, causing functional changes in maternal brain and behavior. Maternal behaviors are among the most robust and rewarding motivated behaviors. Mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system alterations during pregnancy and the postpartum enable enhanced reward-related responses to offspring stimuli. Here, we review behavioral evidence demonstrating postpartum rodents exhibit a bias towards pups and pup-related stimuli in reward-related tasks. Next, we provide an overview of normative adaptations in the mesolimbic DA system induced by parturition and the postpartum, which likely mediate shifts in offspring valence. We also discuss a causal link between dopaminergic dysfunction and disrupted maternal behaviors, which are recapitulated in postpartum depression (PPD) and relevant rodent models. In sum, mesolimbic DA system activation drives infant-seeking behavior and strengthens the mother-infant bond, potentially representing a therapeutic target for reward-related deficits in PPD.
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