According to the new studies Vaginal birth triggers the expression of a protein in the brains of newborns that improves brain development and function in adulthood, in which also remarked that this protein expression is impaired in the brains of offspring delivered by caesarean section. The researcher team studied the effect of natural and surgical deliveries on mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 in mice. Uncoupling protein 2 is crucial for the proper development of hippocampal neurons and circuits. This area of the brain is liable for short and long term memory. Uncoupling protein 2 is tangled in cellular metabolism of fat, which is a major component of breast milk, suggesting that induction of uncoupling protein 2 by natural birth may assist the transition to breast feeding. The researchers found that natural birth triggered uncoupling protein 2 expression in the neurons located in the hippocampal region of the brain. This was reduced in the brains of mice born via Cesarean section. Knocking out the uncoupling protein 2 genes or chemically inhibiting uncoupling protein 2 function interfered with the differentiation of hippocampal neurons and circuits, and impaired adult behaviors associated to hippocampal functions. The increasing prevalence of Cesarean sections driven by convenience rather than medical necessity may have a previously unsuspected lasting effect on brain development and function in humans as well.

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