Citation

Nguyen AJ, Hoyer E, Rajhans P, Strathearn L, Kim S. J. Neuroendocrinol. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Center for Reproductive Psychiatry, Pavilion for Women, Texas Children's Hospital.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jne.12794

PMID

31520440

Abstract

Postpartum depression is a common but complex condition that is poorly understood and multifactorial in etiology. It is a condition that can compromise the mother's care for her infant, which may pose challenges to the formation of the mother-infant bond and the infant's overall development. Past research has looked at abnormalities in the brain circuitry and hormonal profiles of mothers with postpartum depression compared to non-depressed mothers. However, abnormalities in postpartum depression that may specifically affect the mother's care of her infant have not been clearly assessed. Thus, the aim of this review is to synthesize studies of altered brain and hormonal responses in mothers with postpartum depression in relation to their care of their infant. First, we will review maternal brain responses and their relation to postpartum depression symptomatology, focusing on the salience/fear network, reward/attachment network and default mode network. Next, we will discuss oxytocin and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hormones in the context of maternal behavior and postpartum depression. Finally, we will synthesize these findings and propose how future studies may benefit from the combined study of both neural and hormonal activity to better understand the underlying neurobiology of maternal care in postpartum depression.

© 2019 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

Language: en

Keywords

fMRI; hormones; infant; maternal; postpartum depression