Research Focus  ​

​​

My research focuses on the fascinating relationship between pregnancy, motherhood, and brain plasticity, with a particular emphasis on perinatal mental illness and its treatment. I’m passionate about understanding how the brain adapts during this transformative period and how mental health challenges intersect with these changes.

​

My work has been published in high-impact scientific journals, and I also enjoy sharing insights with a broader audience through articles on platforms like Inspire the Mind and The Conversation France.

​

In addition to my research, I serve as a dedicated Section Editor for Archives of Women’s Mental Health (Springer) and have been a Guest Editor for various journals, curating special issues on topics like the neuroscience of motherhood. My most recent special issue focuses on cognition and maternal mental health. You can find a full list of my scientific publications and editorials by clicking here. 

​​

Selected scientific publications.

*lead author

​​

​The parental brain, perinatal mental illness, and treatment: A review of key structural and functional changes.
Pawluski JL. Semin Perinatol. 2024 Oct;48(6):151951. doi: 10.1016/j.semperi.2024.151951. Epub 2024 Jul 14.

 

​Maternal probiotic Lactocaseibacillus rhamnosus HN001 treatment alters postpartum anxiety, cortical monoamines, and the gut microbiome. Lonstein JS, Meinhardt TA, Pavlidi P, Kokras N, Dalla C, Charlier TD, Pawluski JL. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2024 Jul;165:107033. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107033. Epub 2024 Mar 19.

​

The 7th International Meeting on the Neuroscience of Parenting. Pawluski JL, Brunton PJ, Bosch OJ. J Neuroendocrinol. 2023 Jul;35(7):e13321. doi: 10.1111/jne.13321. Epub 2023 Jul 14.

​

Gestational stress and perinatal SSRIs differentially impact the maternal and neonatal microbiome-gut-brain axis.
Pawluski JL*, Murail P, Grudet F, Bys L, Golubeva AV, Bastiaanssen T, Oberlander TF, Cryan JF, O'Mahony SM, Charlier TD.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2023 Jul;35(7):e13261. doi: 10.1111/jne.13261. Epub 2023 May 2.

​

Understanding the maternal brain in the context of the mental load of motherhood. Callaghan, B.L., McCormack, C., Kim, P. , Pawluski, J.L. Nat. Mental Health 2, 764–772 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00268-4

​

It's Time to Rebrand "Mommy Brain". ​McCormack C, Callaghan BL, Pawluski JL*. JAMA Neurol. 2023 Feb 6. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.5180. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36745418.

​

Less can be more: Fine tuning the maternal brain. Pawluski JL*, Hoekzema E, Leuner B, Lonstein JS.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022 Feb;133:104475. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.045. Epub 2021 Dec 2.PMID: 34864004 Review.

​

The brain oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing factor systems in grieving mothers: What we know and what we need to learn. Demarchi L, Pawluski JL, Bosch OJ. Peptides. 2021 Sep;143:170593. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2021.170593. Epub 2021 Jun 6.PMID: 34091013 Review

​

Neurobiology of peripartum mental illness. Pawluski JL*, Swain JE, Lonstein JS.Handb Clin Neurol. 2021;182:63-82. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-819973-2.00005-8.PMID: 34266612 Review.

​

Perinatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and other antidepressant exposure effects on anxiety and depressive behaviors in offspring: A review of findings in humans and rodent models. Hutchison SM, Mâsse LC, Pawluski JL, Oberlander TF.Reprod Toxicol. 2021 Jan;99:80-95. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2020.11.013. Epub 2020 Nov 27.PMID: 33253794 Review.

​

Moving Forward From COVID-19: Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Maternal Health With a New Conceptual Model. Dickens MJ, Pawluski JL, Romero LM.Front Glob Womens Health. 2020 Nov 4;1:586697. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2020.586697. eCollection 2020.PMID: 34816162 Free PMC article.

​

Sex matters in neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology. Pawluski JL, Kokras N, Charlier TD, Dalla C.Eur J Neurosci. 2020 Jul;52(1):2423-2428. doi: 10.1111/ejn.14880. Epub 2020 Jul 3.PMID: 32578303

​

Effect of sertraline on central serotonin and hippocampal plasticity in pregnant and non-pregnant rats. Pawluski JL, Paravatou R, Even A, Cobraiville G, Fillet M, Kokras N, Dalla C, Charlier TD.Neuropharmacology. 2020 Apr;166:107950. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.107950. Epub 2020 Jan 11.PMID: 31935392