Resource scarcity influences maternal brain activity and caregiving in rats

When mothers do not have the necessary resources to raise their children, this adversity causes substantial stress that can hinder caregiving and lead to postpartum depression. In a new study in JNeurosci, Millie Rincón-Cortés and colleagues from the University of Texas at Dallas used rats to explore how a lack of resources while raising pups alters neural activity. The researchers focused on a neuron population that is activated by interactions with pups and is linked to motivated behavior as well as maternal care.