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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2016 Sep;2016(153):59–72. doi: 10.1002/cad.20170

Figure 4.1. Oxytocin-related maternal brain plasticity.

Figure 4.1

Structural and functional plasticity is observed in the OT neurons of the PVN, SON, and MPOA of the HYP during late pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. These changes coordinate an array of other adaptations critical for the maternal brain, including those within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine circuitry. MPOA = medial preoptic area; PVN = paraventricular nucleus; SON = supraoptic nucleus; HYP = hypothalamus; VS = ventral striatum; VTA = ventral tegmental area. Brain schematic by P. J. Lynch (2006; CC BY 2.5).