Oxytocin system polymorphisms rs237887 and rs2740210 variants increase the risk of depression in pregnant women with early abuse

The effect of childhood sexual abuse on depressive symptoms in female college students: a serial mediation model

Objective

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can have a negative impact on women's psychological, emotional and social functioning. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between CSA and depressive symptoms in female college students, as well as the mediating roles of negative core schema and experiential avoidance.

Methods

515 female college students responded to the Sexual Abuse subscale of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Brief Core Schema Scales, and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - II. The structural equation modeling was used for the mediation analysis.

Results

There was a significant positive correlation between CSA and depressive symptoms in female college students. The theoretical model was well fitted, χ2/df = 3.422, RMSEA = 0.069, CFI = 0.929, TLI = 0.919. The negative core schema played a mediating role between CSA and depressive symptoms. Experiential avoidance played a mediating role between CSA and depressive symptoms. The negative core schema and experiential avoidance played a serial mediating role between CSA and depressive symptoms.

Conclusion

These results deepen our understanding of the relationship between CSA and depressive symptoms in female college students, and provide theoretical guidance for the prevention of depression in female college students. Attention should be paid to female college students who have experienced CSA, to eliminate the adverse influence of negative core schema on these students. Meanwhile, we should teach female college students to accept themselves as they are, and thereby reduce their use of experiential avoidance strategies.

Natural variation in oxytocin receptor signaling causes widespread changes in brain transcription: a link to the natural killer gene complex

Oxytocin (OXT) is a highly conserved neuropeptide that modulates social cognition, and variation in its receptor gene (Oxtr) is associated with divergent social phenotypes. The cellular mechanisms connecting Oxtr genotype to social phenotype remain obscure. We exploit an association between Oxtr polymorphisms and striatal-specific OXTR density in prairie voles to investigate how OXTR signaling influences the brain transcriptome. We discover widespread, OXTR signaling-dependent transcriptomic changes. Interestingly, OXTR signaling robustly modulates gene expression of C-type lectin-like receptors (CTLRs) in the natural killer gene complex, a genomic region associated with immune function. CTLRs are positioned to control microglial synaptic pruning; a process important for shaping neural circuits. Similar relationships between OXTR RNA and CTLR gene expression were found in human striatum. These data suggest a potential molecular mechanism by which variation in OXTR signaling due to genetic background and/or life-long social experiences, including nurturing/neglect, may affect circuit connectivity and social behavior.