Science News Archive

Breast Feeding Mothers Have Better Brain Power

Japanese researchers have found that women who breast feed have higher levels of brain activity compared with non-breast feeding mothers. The researchers have found that the hormone oxytocin, which drives milk release from the breast, also increases that activity of nerve cells in the hippocampus, resulting in improved memory and learning. The hippocampus is also the part of the brain affected by Alzheimer's disease, a form of senile dementia, and so researchers are speculating that Alzheimer's patients might benefit.
Article about the anti-Alzheimer's Vaccine
Pregnancy increases the size of the female brain.

13th Jan 2002