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Pawluski JL. The parental brain, perinatal mental illness, and treatment: A review of key structural and functional changes. Semin Perinatol 2024; 48:151951. [PMID: 39030131 DOI: 10.1016/j.semperi.2024.151951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
The transition to parenthood is perhaps the only time in adult life when the brain changes to such a significant degree in such a short period, particularly in birthing parents. It is also a time when there is an increased risk of developing a mental illness, which may be due, in part, to the increased neuroplasticity. Thus, we must develop interventions and treatments that support parents and promote parental brain health. This review will highlight key findings from current research on how human brain structure and function are modified with 1) the transition to parenthood, 2) parenting stress and perinatal mental illness, and 3) treatments aimed at promoting perinatal mental health. The focus will be on birthing parents and mothers, but brain changes in non-birthing parents will also be discussed. Improvements in our understanding of the parental brain, in health and with illness, will promote the well-being of generations to come.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jodi L Pawluski
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail), UMR_S 1085, F-35000, Rennes, France.
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2
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Bublitz MH, Swain J, Lustig S, Barthelemy C, DeYoung L, Dickstein D. Maternal History of Childhood Maltreatment and Brain Responses to Infant Cues Across the Postpartum Period. CHILD MALTREATMENT 2024; 29:3-7. [PMID: 36154501 PMCID: PMC10165352 DOI: 10.1177/10775595221128952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Adults with histories of childhood maltreatment (CM) are more likely to display problematic parenting behaviors. The goal of this study was to examine changes in maternal brain activation to negative infant cues over the early postpartum period among new mothers with and without histories of CM, as this is a period of immense neuroplasticity in the maternal brain. CM was measured using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) conducted at approximately 5 and 13 weeks postpartum measured brain responses to own and unfamiliar infant cues in primiparous women. Women with histories of CM displayed increasing activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, and greater increases in anterior cingulate cortex activation was associated with maternal reports of less regulatory capacity in their infants. Preliminary results suggest that new mothers with CM histories display greater brain responses to negative infant cues compared to new mothers without CM histories. Women with CM histories may benefit from additional supports during the transition to parenthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret H. Bublitz
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Women’s Medicine Collaborative, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
| | - James Swain
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Shoshanna Lustig
- Women’s Medicine Collaborative, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Christine Barthelemy
- Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lena DeYoung
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Daniel Dickstein
- PediMIND Program, McLean Hospital, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, & Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Belmont, MA, USA
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3
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Barrett EN, Frey BN, Streiner DL, Agako A, Inness BE, Furtado M, Caropreso L, Green SM. Psychometric properties of the difficulties in emotion regulation Scale in a perinatal sample. J Reprod Infant Psychol 2023:1-20. [PMID: 37342964 DOI: 10.1080/02646838.2023.2227648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One in five pregnant and postpartum individuals experience an anxiety, depressive, and/or trauma-related disorder. Emotion dysregulation (ED) underlies the development and maintenance of various mental health disorders. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is the most comprehensive and commonly used measure of emotion dysregulation, yet limited evidence supports its use in the perinatal population. The present study aims to evaluate the validity of the DERS and its six subscales in a perinatal sample and to assess its predictive utility in identifying perinatal individuals with a disorder characterised by emotion dysregulation. METHODS Pregnant and postpartum individuals (N = 237) completed a diagnostic clinical interview and self-report measures of anxiety, depression, and perceived social support. RESULTS The DERS subscales demonstrated good internal consistency and construct validity, as it strongly correlated with measures of anxiety and depression and failed to correlate with a measure of perceived social support. Results from an exploratory factor analysis supported a 6-factor solution, suggesting structural validity. An ROC analysis revealed good to excellent discriminative ability for the DERS full scale and four of the subscales. Finally, an optimal clinical cut-off score of 87 or greater was established with a sensitivity of 81% for detecting a current anxiety, depressive, and/or trauma-related disorder. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence for the validity and clinical utility of the DERS in a treatment-seeking and community sample of pregnant and postpartum individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N Barrett
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Benicio N Frey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Canada
| | - David L Streiner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Arela Agako
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Briar E Inness
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Melissa Furtado
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Luisa Caropreso
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Sheryl M Green
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Canada
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Cheng B, Wang X, Roberts N, Zhou Y, Wang S, Deng P, Meng Y, Deng W, Wang J. Abnormal dynamics of resting-state functional activity and couplings in postpartum depression with and without anxiety. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:5597-5608. [PMID: 35174863 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) and PPD comorbid with anxiety (PPD-A) are highly prevalent and severe mental health problems in postnatal women. PPD and PPD-A share similar pathopsychological features, leading to ongoing debates regarding the diagnostic and neurobiological uniqueness. This paper aims to delineate common and disorder-specific neural underpinnings and potential treatment targets for PPD and PPD-A by characterizing functional dynamics with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in 138 participants (45 first-episode, treatment-naïve PPD; 31 PDD-A patients; and 62 healthy postnatal women [HPW]). PPD-A group showed specifically increased dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) and increased dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) between the sgACC and superior temporal sulcus. PPD group exhibited specifically increased static FC (sFC) between the sgACC and ventral anterior insula. Common disrupted sFC between the sgACC and middle temporal gyrus was found in both PPD and PPD-A patients. Interestingly, dynamic changes in dFC between the sgACC and superior temporal gyrus could differentiate PPD, PPD-A, and HPW. Our study presents initial evidence on specifically abnormal functional dynamics of limbic, emotion regulation, and social cognition systems in patients with PDD and PPD-A, which may facilitate understanding neurophysiological mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment for PPD and PPD-A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bochao Cheng
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Xiuli Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Fourth People's Hospital of Chengdu, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Neil Roberts
- Edinburgh Imaging facility, The Queen's Medical Research Institute (QMRI), School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Yushan Zhou
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.,Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Song Wang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Pengcheng Deng
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Yajing Meng
- Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Wei Deng
- Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Jiaojian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
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5
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Mapping the effects of pregnancy on resting state brain activity, white matter microstructure, neural metabolite concentrations and grey matter architecture. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6931. [PMID: 36414622 PMCID: PMC9681770 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33884-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
While animal studies have demonstrated a unique reproduction-related neuroplasticity, little is known on the effects of pregnancy on the human brain. Here we investigated whether pregnancy is associated with changes to resting state brain activity, white matter microstructure, neural metabolite concentrations and grey matter architecture using a comprehensive pre-conception cohort study. We show that pregnancy leads to selective and robust changes in neural architecture and neural network organization, which are most pronounced in the Default Mode Network. These neural changes correlated with pregnancy hormones, primarily third-trimester estradiol, while no associations were found with other factors such as osmotic effects, stress and sleep. Furthermore, the changes related to measures of maternal-fetal bonding, nesting behavior and the physiological responsiveness to infant cues, and predicted measures of mother-infant bonding and bonding impairments. These findings suggest there are selective pregnancy-related modifications in brain structure and function that may facilitate peripartum maternal processes of key relevance to the mother-infant dyad.
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6
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Li J, Deng SW. Social attention, memory, and memory-guided orienting change across the menstrual cycle. Physiol Behav 2022; 251:113808. [PMID: 35421422 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies have shown that perception of emotion and emotional memory vary across the menstrual cycle. However, most of these studies used stimuli that contained not only emotional but also social elements. Importantly, the social cognitive abilities of individuals are as crucial as emotional abilities for danger avoidance and recruitment of allies. Therefore, the issue that natural hormonal fluctuations may affect emotion processing should be revisited. To investigate whether the effects of the menstrual cycle are emotion-specific or can also be attributed to social information processing, the present study examined social attention across the menstrual cycle in three tasks-visual search, memory, and memory-guided orienting-with a combination of behavioral and eye-tracking measures. We used images of people standing upright with neutral emotion as social distractors and everyday objects with physical properties matched as non-social distractors. Thirty-six healthy women without hormone use and with stable menstrual cycles of 26 - 30 days participated in the three tasks in the late follicular phase (FP) and mid-luteal phase (LP), respectively. During visual search, participants were asked to search for targets accompanied by social or non-social distractors in complex scenes. Social attentional bias, as evidenced by longer search times and shorter gaze behaviors for targets with social distractors, was found in the FP but not in the LP. In the following memory task, memory accuracy for targets was higher in the FP than in the LP, and the memory for targets with social distractors was more precise in both phases. Finally, in the orienting task, targets in social scenes were detected more slowly than in non-social scenes in LP. Taken together, these findings point to the interplay between social attention, memory, and memory-oriented attention and reveal the distinct processing pathways for social information in the FP and LP. The underlying mechanisms from an evolutionary perspective and from behavioral and neural basis were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhua Li
- Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macao, China; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China
| | - Sophia W Deng
- Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macao, China; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
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7
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Capistrano CG, Grande LA, McRae K, Phan KL, Kim P. Maternal socioeconomic disadvantage, neural function during volitional emotion regulation, and parenting. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:276-292. [PMID: 35620995 PMCID: PMC10829500 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2082521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The transition to becoming a mother involves numerous emotional challenges, and the ability to effectively keep negative emotions in check is critical for parenting. Evidence suggests that experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage interferes with parenting adaptations and alters neural processes related to emotion regulation. The present study examined whether socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with diminished neural activation while mothers engaged in volitional (i.e., purposeful) emotion regulation. 59 mothers, at an average of 4 months postpartum, underwent fMRI scanning and completed the Emotion Regulation Task (ERT). When asked to regulate emotions using reappraisal (i.e., Reappraise condition; reframing stimuli in order to decrease negative emotion), mothers with lower income-to-needs ratio exhibited dampened neural activation in the dorsolateral and ventrolateral PFC, middle frontal and middle temporal gyrus, and caudate. Without explicit instructions to down-regulate (i.e., Maintain condition), mothers experiencing lower income also exhibited dampened response in regulatory areas, including the middle frontal and middle temporal gyrus and caudate. Blunted middle frontal gyrus activation across both Reappraise and Maintain conditions was associated with reduced maternal sensitivity during a mother-child interaction task. Results of the present study demonstrate the influence of socioeconomic disadvantage on prefrontal engagement during emotion regulation, which may have downstream consequences for maternal behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Leah A Grande
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Kateri McRae
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
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8
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Pawluski JL, Hoekzema E, Leuner B, Lonstein JS. Less can be more: Fine tuning the maternal brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 133:104475. [PMID: 34864004 PMCID: PMC8807930 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
PAWLUSKI, J.L., Hoekzema, E., Leuner, B., and Lonstein, J.S. Less can be more: Fine tuning the maternal brain. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV (129) XXX-XXX, 2022. Plasticity in the female brain across the lifespan has recently become a growing field of scientific inquiry. This has led to the understanding that the transition to motherhood is marked by some of the most significant changes in brain plasticity in the adult female brain. Perhaps unexpectedly, plasticity occurring in the maternal brain often involves a decrease in brain volume, neurogenesis and glial cell density that presumably optimizes caregiving and other postpartum behaviors. This review summarizes what we know of the 'fine-tuning' of the female brain that accompanies motherhood and highlights the implications of these changes for maternal neurobehavioral health. The first part of the review summarizes structural and functional brain changes in humans during pregnancy and postpartum period with the remainder of the review focusing on neural and glial plasticity during the peripartum period in animal models. The aim of this review is to provide a clear understanding of when 'less is more' in maternal brain plasticity and where future research can focus to improve our understanding of the unique brain plasticity occurring during matrescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jodi L. Pawluski
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail), UMR_S 1085, F-35000, Rennes, France.,Corresponding author: Jodi L. Pawluski, University of Rennes 1, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail), UMR_S 1085, F-35000, Rennes, France.
| | - Elseline Hoekzema
- Brain and Development Laboratory, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Hoekzema Lab, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Benedetta Leuner
- The Ohio State University, Department of Psychology & Department of Neuroscience Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Joseph S. Lonstein
- Neuroscience Program & Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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9
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Cheng B, Zhou Y, Kwok VPY, Li Y, Wang S, Zhao Y, Meng Y, Deng W, Wang J. Altered Functional Connectivity Density and Couplings in Postpartum Depression with and Without Anxiety. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:756-766. [PMID: 34904174 PMCID: PMC9340108 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common psychological health issue among women, which often comorbids with anxiety (PPD-A). PPD and PPD-A showed highly overlapping clinical symptoms. Identifying disorder-specific neurophysiological markers of PDD and PPD-A is important for better clinical diagnosis and treatments. Here, we performed functional connectivity density (FCD) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analyses in 138 participants (45 unmedicated patients with first-episode PPD, 31 PDD-A patients and 62 healthy postnatal women, respectively). FCD mapping revealed specifically weaker long-range FCD in right lingual gyrus (LG.R) for PPD patients and significantly stronger long-range FCD in left ventral striatum (VS.L) for PPD-A patients. The follow-up rsFC analyses further revealed reduced functional connectivity between dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and VS.L in both PPD and PPD-A. PPD showed specific changes of rsFC between LG.R and dmPFC, right angular gyrus and left precentral gyrus, while PPD-A represented specifically abnormal rsFC between VS.L and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Moreover, the altered FCD and rsFC were closely associated with depression and anxiety symptoms load. Taken together, our study is the first to identify common and disorder-specific neural circuit disruptions in PPD and PPD-A, which may facilitate more effective diagnosis and treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bochao Cheng
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.,Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Yushan Zhou
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Veronica P Y Kwok
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Yuanyuan Li
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of the Ministry of Education, School of life Science and technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 625014, China
| | - Song Wang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Yajun Zhao
- School of Sociality and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajing Meng
- Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Wei Deng
- Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Jiaojian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
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10
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Martínez-García M, Paternina-Die M, Desco M, Vilarroya O, Carmona S. Characterizing the Brain Structural Adaptations Across the Motherhood Transition. Front Glob Womens Health 2021; 2:742775. [PMID: 34816246 PMCID: PMC8593951 DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2021.742775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Women that become mothers face notable physiological adaptations during this life-period. Neuroimaging studies of the last decade have provided grounded evidence that women's brains structurally change across the transition into motherhood. The characterization of this brain remodeling is currently in its early years of research. The current article reviews this scientific field by focusing on our longitudinal (pre-to-post pregnancy) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies in first-time parents and other longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of parents. We present the questions that are currently being answered by the parental brain literature and point out those that have not yet been explored. We also highlight potential confounding variables that need to be considered when analyzing and interpreting brain changes observed during motherhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Martínez-García
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - María Paternina-Die
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Desco
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Bioingeniería e Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Oscar Vilarroya
- Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Susanna Carmona
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
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11
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Yatziv T, Vancor EA, Bunderson M, Rutherford HJV. Maternal perinatal anxiety and neural responding to infant affective signals: Insights, challenges, and a road map for neuroimaging research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:387-399. [PMID: 34563563 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety symptoms are common among women during pregnancy and the postpartum period, potentially having detrimental effects on both mother and child's well-being. Perinatal maternal anxiety interferes with a core facet of adaptive caregiving: mothers' sensitive responsiveness to infant affective communicative 'cues.' This review summarizes the current research on the neural correlates of maternal processing of infant cues in the presence of perinatal anxiety, outlines its limitations, and offers next steps to advance future research. Functional neuroimaging studies examining the neural circuitry involved in, and electrophysiological studies examining the temporal dynamics of, processing infant cues during pregnancy and postpartum are reviewed. Studies have generally indicated mixed findings, although emerging themes suggest that anxiety may be implicated in several stages of processing infant cues- detection, interpretation, and reaction- contingent upon cue valence. Limitations include inconsistent designs, lack of differentiation between anxiety and depression symptoms, and limited consideration of parenting-specific (versus domain-general) anxiety. Future studies should incorporate longitudinal investigation of multiple levels of analysis spanning neural, cognitive, and observed aspects of sensitive caregiving.
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12
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Kowalczyk OS, Pauls AM, Fusté M, Williams SCR, Hazelgrove K, Vecchio C, Seneviratne G, Pariante CM, Dazzan P, Mehta MA. Neurocognitive correlates of working memory and emotional processing in postpartum psychosis: an fMRI study. Psychol Med 2021; 51:1724-1732. [PMID: 32174288 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720000471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Postpartum psychosis (PP) is a severe postpartum disorder. While working memory and emotional processing-related brain function are consistently impaired in psychoses unrelated to the puerperium, no studies have investigated them in PP. METHODS Twenty-four women at risk of developing PP (11 developed an episode - PE; 13 remained well - NPE) and 20 healthy postpartum women completed two functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks within a year of delivery: working memory (n-back) and emotional face recognition (fearful faces). We compared women at-risk of PP to controls, as well as NPE, PE, and controls to test for potential effects of a PP episode occurrence. RESULTS Women at-risk of PP and PE showed hyperactivation of lateral visual areas, precuneus, and posterior cingulate during the n-back task. The at-risk group as a whole, as well as the PE and NPE groups, showed hyperconnectivity of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with various parieto-occipito-temporo-cerebellar regions compared to controls during several n-back conditions. Increases in connectivity between the right DLPFC and ipsilateral middle temporal gyrus were observed in the PE group compared to NPE during 2-back. During the fearful faces task, at-risk women as a group showed hyperactivation of fronto-cingulo-subcortical regions, and hypoconnectivity between the left amygdala and ipsilateral occipito-parietal regions compared to controls. No significant performance differences were observed. CONCLUSIONS These results present preliminary evidence of a differential nature of functional brain abnormalities in PP compared to the typically observed reduced connectivity with the DLPFC in psychoses unrelated to puerperium, such as bipolar disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia S Kowalczyk
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Astrid M Pauls
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Montserrat Fusté
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- CIBERSAM, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Madrid, Spain
| | - Steven C R Williams
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
| | - Katie Hazelgrove
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Section of Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology and Perinatal Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Costanza Vecchio
- Section of Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology and Perinatal Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Gertrude Seneviratne
- Section of Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology and Perinatal Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Carmine M Pariante
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
- Section of Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology and Perinatal Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Paola Dazzan
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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13
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Postpartum Stress and Neural Regulation of Emotion among First-Time Mothers. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:1066-1082. [PMID: 34128217 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00914-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Early parenting relies on emotion regulation capabilities, as mothers are responsible for regulating both their own emotional state and that of their infant during a time of new parenting-related neural plasticity and potentially increased stress. Previous research highlights the importance of frontal cortical regions in facilitating effective emotion regulation, but few studies have investigated the neural regulation of emotion among postpartum women. The current study employed a functional neuroimaging (fMRI) approach to explore the association between perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and the neural regulation of emotion in first-time mothers. Among 59 postpartum mothers, higher perceived stress during the postpartum period was associated with less self-reported use of cognitive reappraisal in everyday life, and greater use of emotion suppression. While viewing standardized aversive images during the Emotion Regulation Task (ERT), mothers were instructed to experience their natural emotional state (Maintain) or to decrease the intensity of their negative emotion by using cognitive reappraisal (Reappraise). Whole-brain analysis revealed a two-way interaction of perceived stress x condition in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) at p < .05 cluster-wise corrected, controlling for postpartum months and scanner type. Higher levels of perceived stress were associated with heightened right DLPFC activity while engaging in cognitive reappraisal versus naturally responding to negative stimuli. Higher right DLPFC activity during Reappraise versus Maintain was further associated with elevated parenting stress. Findings suggest that stress and everyday reappraisal use is reflected in mothers' neural regulation of emotion and may have important implications for their adaptation to parenthood.
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14
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Luders E, Gaser C, Gingnell M, Engman J, Sundström Poromaa I, Kurth F. Significant increases of the amygdala between immediate and late postpartum: Pronounced effects within the superficial subregion. J Neurosci Res 2021; 99:2261-2270. [PMID: 34101893 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Research exploring the underlying neuroanatomical correlates of early motherhood seems to suggest that the period after giving birth is marked by tissue increases in the mother's brain. While some studies point to the amygdala as one of the areas undergoing postpartum changes, existing analyses did not discriminate between the different subregions of this functionally heterogeneous structure. Thus, to further extend this understudied field of research and to better understand the potential role of the amygdala when transitioning to motherhood, we applied an advanced region-of-interest technique that enabled us to analyze the amygdala as a whole as well as its different subareas, specifically the left and right centromedian (CM), laterobasal (LB), and superficial (SF) regions. Comparing the brains of 14 healthy women between immediate postpartum (within 1-2 days of childbirth) and late postpartum (at 4-6 weeks after childbirth), we revealed increases of the amygdala. However, effects manifested differentially across subareas, with particularly strong effects for the SF region, moderate effects for the CM region, and no effects for the LB region. These findings might reflect region-specific adaptations of the mother's brain tuning into the distinct and ever-changing needs of a newborn, either as a cause for it or as a consequence thereof.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen Luders
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.,Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Christian Gaser
- Department of Psychiatry, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Malin Gingnell
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jonas Engman
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Florian Kurth
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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15
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Abnormalities of cortical structures in patients with postpartum depression: A surface-based morphometry study. Behav Brain Res 2021; 410:113340. [PMID: 33945830 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious postpartum mental health problem worldwide. However, the cortical structural alterations in patients with PPD remain unclear. This study investigated the cortical structural alterations of PPD patients through multidimensional structural patterns and their potential correlations with clinical severity. METHODS High-resolution 3D T1 structural images were acquired from 21 drug-naive patients with PPD and 18 healthy postpartum women matched for age, educational level, and body mass index. The severity of PPD was assessed by using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores. Cortical morphological parameters including cortical thickness, surface area, and mean curvature were calculated using the surface-based morphometric (SBM) method. General linear model (GLM) analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship of cortical morphological parameters with clinical scales. RESULTS In the present study, PPD patients showed a thinner cortical thickness in the right inferior parietal lobule compared with the healthy controls. Increased surface area was observed in the left superior frontal gyrus, caudal middle frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, insula, and right supramarginal cortex in PPD patients. Likewise, PPD patients exhibited a higher mean curvature in the left superior and right inferior parietal lobule. Furthermore, increased cortical surface area in the left insula had a positive correlation with EPDS scores, and higher mean curvature in the left superior parietal lobule was negatively correlated with EPDS scores. LIMITATIONS First, SBM cannot reflect the changes of subcortical structures that are considered to play a role in the development of PPD. Second, the sample size of this study is small. These positive results should be interpreted with caution. Third, this cross-sectional study does not involve a comparison of structural MRI before and after pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS The complex cortical structural alterations of patients with PPD mainly involved the prefrontal and parietal regions. The morphometric alterations in these specific regions may provide promising markers for assessing the severity of PPD.
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16
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Finnegan MK, Kane S, Heller W, Laurent H. Mothers' neural response to valenced infant interactions predicts postpartum depression and anxiety. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0250487. [PMID: 33905457 PMCID: PMC8078806 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It is currently unknown whether differences in neural responsiveness to infant cues observed in postpartum affective disturbance are specific to depression/anxiety or are better attributed to a common component of internalizing distress. It is also unknown whether differences in mothers’ brain response can be accounted for by effects of past episodes, or if current neural processing of her child may serve as a risk factor for development of future symptoms. Twenty-four mothers from a community-based sample participated in an fMRI session viewing their 3-month- old infant during tasks evoking positive or negative emotion. They were tracked across the ensuing 15 months to monitor changes in affective symptoms. Past and current episodes of depression and anxiety, as well as future symptoms, were used to predict differences in mothers’ hemodynamic response to their infant in positive compared to negative emotion contexts. Lower relative activation in largely overlapping brain regions involving frontal lobe structures to own infant positive vs. negative emotion was associated with concurrent (3-month) depression diagnosis and prospective (3–18 month) depression and anxiety symptoms. There was little evidence for impacts of past psychopathology (more limited effect of past anxiety and nonsignificant effect of past depression). Results suggest biased maternal processing of infant emotions during postpartum depression and anxiety is largely accounted for by a shared source of variance (internalizing distress). Furthermore, differential maternal responsiveness to her infant’s emotional cues is specifically associated with the perpetuation of postpartum symptoms, as opposed to more general phenotypic or scarring effects of past psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Kate Finnegan
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Stephanie Kane
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States of America
| | - Wendy Heller
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Heidemarie Laurent
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States of America
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17
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Luders E, Gaser C, Gingnell M, Engman J, Sundström Poromaa I, Kurth F. Gray matter increases within subregions of the hippocampal complex after pregnancy. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 15:2790-2794. [PMID: 33881733 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-021-00463-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging findings - although still relatively sparse in the realm of postpartum research - suggest significant tissue increases within the hippocampus or its vicinity after giving birth. Given that the hippocampus is not a homogenous structure, effects may manifest differently across the hippocampal complex. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine the presence, magnitude, and direction of postpartum gray matter changes within five hippocampal subregions, specifically the dentate gyrus, the subiculum, and the subfields of the cornu ammonis (CA1, CA2 and CA3). For this purpose, we analyzed brain images of 14 healthy women acquired at immediate postpartum (within 1-2 days of childbirth) and at late postpartum (at 4-6 weeks after childbirth). Changes in hippocampal gray matter between both time points were calculated for all subregions as well as the hippocampal complex as a whole by integrating imaging-based intensity information with microscopically defined cytoarchitectonic probabilities. Hippocampal gray matter increased significantly within the right subiculum, right CA2, and right CA3. These findings may suggest that brain tissue lost during pregnancy is being restored after giving birth, perhaps even expanded compared to before pregnancy. Possible events on the microanatomical level include dendritic branching as well as the generation of new synapses, glia cells, and blood vessels. Altogether, the outcomes of our study confirm that hippocampal gray matter increases in the female human brain after giving birth, with differential effects across the hippocampal complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen Luders
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand. .,Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Christian Gaser
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Malin Gingnell
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jonas Engman
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Florian Kurth
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
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18
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Hannan J, Etowa JB, Babatunde S, Stephens CN, Barfield L, Galarza MG, Alharbi MM, Reid V, Etowa EB, Phillips JC. Determinants of Adherence to National Infant Feeding Guidelines by Black Mothers Living with HIV. Ethn Dis 2021; 31:31-40. [PMID: 33519153 DOI: 10.18865/ed.31.1.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Worldwide, 160,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2018; half of these were infected through breastfeeding. Infant feeding guidelines are distinct depending on each country's resources and national or sub-national guidelines. Because of divergent guidelines, the best infant feeding approach to prevent mother-to-child transmission can become unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the sociocultural and psychosocial factors related to adherence to infant feeding guidelines through a city-level, North-South comparison of Black mothers living with HIV in Nigeria, Canada, and the United States. Design Using a cross-sectional multi-country survey, a convenience sample of 690 mothers were recruited from June 2016 - December 2019. Socio-cultural and psychosocial factors influencing infant feeding practices were measured. Results Using binary logistic regression, infant feeding attitudes (OR = 1.10), motherhood experiences (OR = 1.08), low hyper-vigilance score (OR = .93), paternal support (OR = 1.10) and perception that the health care provider supported adherence to infant feeding guidelines (OR = 2.43) were associated with guideline adherence. Mothers who had cultural beliefs that were inconsistent with infant feeding guidelines and mothers with low incomes (OR = 2.62) were less likely adherent with their country's guidelines. Conclusion City-level factors were not found to influence adherence to infant feeding guidelines; however, socio-cultural and psychosocial factors at community, family and individual levels were significant. Policy formulation and targeted interventions must be cognizant of cultural expectations of motherhood and mindful of psychosocial determinants of adherence to infant feeding guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Hannan
- Florida International University Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Miami, FL, United States
| | | | - Seye Babatunde
- University of Port Harcourt, Centre for Health and Development, Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria
| | - Colleen N Stephens
- Florida International University Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Latisha Barfield
- Florida International University Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Marta G Galarza
- University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Majed M Alharbi
- Florida International University Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Valrie Reid
- Florida International University Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Egbe B Etowa
- University of Ottawa School of Nursing, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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19
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Neglectful maternal caregiving involves altered brain volume in empathy-related areas. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 32:1534-1543. [PMID: 31845644 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419001469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The maternal brain undergoes adaptations to sensitive caregiving that are critical for infant well-being. We investigated structural alterations associated with neglectful caregiving and their effects on mother-child interactive behavior. High-resolution 3D volumetric images were obtained on 25 neglectful (NM) and 23 non-neglectful control (CM) mothers. Using voxel-based morphometry, we compared differences in gray and white matter (GM and WM, respectively) volume. Mothers completed an empathy scale and participated with their children in a play task (Emotional Availability Scale, EA). Neglectful mothers showed smaller GM volume in the right insula, anterior/middle cingulate (ACC/MCC), and right inferior frontal gyrus and less WM volume in bilateral frontal regions than did CM. A greater GM volume was observed in the right fusiform and cerebellum in NM than in CM. Regression analyses showed a negative effect of greater fusiform GM volume and a positive effect of greater right frontal WM volume on EA. Mediation analyses showed the role of emotional empathy in the positive effect of the insula and right inferior frontal gyrus and in the negative effect of the cerebellum on EA. Neglectful mothering involves alterations in emotional empathy-related areas and in frontal areas associated with poor mother-child interactive bonding, indicating how critical these areas are for sensitive caregiving.
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20
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Zheng JX, Ge L, Chen H, Yin X, Chen YC, Tang WW. Disruption within brain default mode network in postpartum women without depression. Medicine (Baltimore) 2020; 99:e20045. [PMID: 32358387 PMCID: PMC7440189 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000020045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that cognitive dysfunction is associated with neurophysiological changes in postpartum period. This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) pattern within the default mode network (DMN) and its associations with cognitive dysfunction in postpartum women without depression revealed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).Resting-state fMRI scans were acquired from 21 postpartum women and 21 age- and education-matched nulliparous women. The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was selected as the seed region to detect the FC patterns and then determine whether these changes were related to specific cognitive performance.Compared with the nulliparous women, postpartum women had a significantly decreased FC between the PCC and the left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). After correcting for age and education, the reduced FC between the PCC and the left mPFC was positively correlated with the poorer Clock-Drawing Test (CDT) scores in postpartum women (r = 0.742, P < .001).The present study mainly demonstrated decreased resting-state FC pattern within the DMN regions that was linked with impaired cognitive function in postpartum women. These findings illustrated the potential role of the DMN in postpartum women that will provide novel insight into the underlying neuropathological mechanisms in postpartum period.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lili Ge
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital
| | - Huiyou Chen
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xindao Yin
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Chen Chen
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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21
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Turpyn CC, Niehaus C, Faundez F, Thompson JC, Chaplin TM. Maternal Neurobiological Processing of Negative Adolescent Stimuli: Relations With Positive Parenting and Relationship Quality. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2020; 30 Suppl 2:458-471. [PMID: 30900798 PMCID: PMC6755080 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
We examined associations between maternal affective neurobiology and positive parenting in a study of 20 mothers of adolescents. Mothers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during an emotion image task, rated parent-adolescent relationship quality, and completed an adolescent interaction task in which positive parenting behaviors were observed. Maternal structure was associated with lower responsivity in emotional processing regions in the general negative image contrast and was related to greater dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation to negative adolescent images. Parent-adolescent relationship quality was associated with lower precuneus activation to negative adolescent images. Findings are among the first to connect functional brain processing with observed parenting behaviors for parents of adolescent children, and underscore the relative importance of affective processing in parenting older children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin C. Turpyn
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - Claire Niehaus
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - Francisca Faundez
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - James C. Thompson
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - Tara M. Chaplin
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
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22
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Seghete KLM, Graham AM, Shank TM, Alsup SL, Fisher PA, Wilson AC, Ewing SWF. Advancing preventive interventions for pregnant women who are opioid using via the integration of addiction and mental health research. CURRENT ADDICTION REPORTS 2020; 7:61-67. [PMID: 32201680 DOI: 10.1007/s40429-020-00296-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Purpose of Review This review examines how research focused on treatment for opioid use in perinatal populations and preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology have remained separate, despite significant overlap. Recent Findings Guidelines for best practice in caring for pregnant women with opioid use disorder suggest the use of medication-assisted treatment with additional comprehensive care, including behavioral and mental health interventions. However, intervention research often mutually excludes these two populations, with studies of behavioral interventions for opioid use excluding women with psychopathology and research on preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology excluding women who are substance using. Summary There is a limited evidence-base to inform the selection of appropriate preventive interventions for pregnant women with opioid use disorder that can address opioid use and/or treatment adherence and concurrent mental health risks. We argue it is critical to integrate research on pregnant women who are opioid using and preventive perinatal mental health interventions to catalyze pivotal change in how we address the opioid epidemic within this growing population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alice M Graham
- Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR
| | - Taylor M Shank
- School of Graduate Psychology, Pacific University, Hillsboro, OR
| | - Shelby L Alsup
- School of Graduate Psychology, Pacific University, Hillsboro, OR
| | | | - Anna C Wilson
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR
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23
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Maguire J, McCormack C, Mitchell A, Monk C. Neurobiology of maternal mental illness. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2020; 171:97-116. [PMID: 32736761 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64239-4.00005-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of current research discoveries beginning to uncover the neurobiology of maternal mental illness. Results are described according to standard diagnostic categories (specifically, perinatal depression, perinatal anxiety and OCD, postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, and trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder), yet we aim to put this approach in context with the introduction of a classification model for psychiatric research, the research domain criteria, gaining traction in basic and clinical translational fields. We first review a new area of study, the neuroplasticity of the pregnant and postpartum brain, as work here has relevance for understanding the pathophysiology of mental disorders and may provide clues to changes in brain functioning that are related to compromised parenting in the context of postpartum depression. We next provide background information on neuroendocrine and immune changes during pregnancy and, to a lesser extent, the postpartum period, as alterations in these systems are significantly implicated in underlying neurobiology of mental illness for peripartum women. Our discussion of the major mental illnesses for pregnant and postpartum women includes neuroendocrine changes, neuroinflammation, and neurotransmitter alterations, as well as circuit dysfunction. Overall, remarkable progress has been made in identifying variations in neurobiology (and related systems) involved in maternal mental illness; yet, it is clear that, as classified with standard diagnostic systems, these are heterogeneous disorders and there is individual variability in the alterations in neurobiology for the same illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Maguire
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Clare McCormack
- Center for Science and Society, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Anika Mitchell
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
| | - Catherine Monk
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States.
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24
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Nguyen AJ, Hoyer E, Rajhans P, Strathearn L, Kim S. A tumultuous transition to motherhood: Altered brain and hormonal responses in mothers with postpartum depression. J Neuroendocrinol 2019; 31:e12794. [PMID: 31520440 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common but complex condition that is poorly understood and multifactorial in aetiology. 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 PPD compared to non-depressed mothers. However, abnormalities in PPD that may specifically affect the mother's care of her infant have not been clearly assessed. Thus, the present review aims to synthesise studies of altered brain and hormonal responses in mothers with PPD in relation to their care of their infant. First, we review maternal brain responses and their relation to PPD symptomatology, focusing on the salience/fear network, reward/attachment network and default mode network. Next, we discuss oxytocin and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormones in the context of maternal behaviour and PPD. Finally, we synthesise 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 PPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J Nguyen
- School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Elisabeth Hoyer
- School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Purva Rajhans
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Lane Strathearn
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Sohye Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Reproductive Psychiatry, Pavilion for Women, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
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25
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Cruz MAD, Gomes NP, Campos LM, Estrela FM, Whitaker MCO, Lírio JGDS. Impacts of sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence: an integrative review. CIENCIA & SAUDE COLETIVA 2019; 26:1369-1380. [PMID: 33886765 DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232021264.02862019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This article identifies the impacts of sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence. We conducted an integrative literature review in September 2018 using the Virtual Health Library. A search was conducted using the following descriptors: Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents and Sexual Abuse or Child Development. The inclusion criteria were open access full-text original articles published between 2013 and September 2018 in Portuguese, English or Spanish. Sixteen eligible articles were selected after reading the titles and abstracts. The full texts of these articles were read and organized into a table. The studies show that sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence has lifelong psychological, physical, sexual and social impacts. The findings of this study can help alert health care professionals to the importance of investigating the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse given the multiple impacts of abuse on victims' lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moniky Araújo da Cruz
- Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal da Bahia. R. Basílio da Gama 241, Canela. 40231-300 Salvador BA Brasil.
| | - Nadirlene Pereira Gomes
- Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal da Bahia. R. Basílio da Gama 241, Canela. 40231-300 Salvador BA Brasil.
| | - Luana Moura Campos
- Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal da Bahia. R. Basílio da Gama 241, Canela. 40231-300 Salvador BA Brasil.
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De Carli P, Costantini I, Sessa P, Visentin S, Pearson RM, Simonelli A. The expectant social mind: A systematic review of face processing during pregnancy and the effect of depression and anxiety. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:153-171. [PMID: 31055013 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Pregnancy carries enormous changes in the psychological and neurophysiological domains. It has been suggested that pregnant women undergo a cognitive reorganization aimed at increasing the salience of social stimuli (i.e., the tendency of social cues to capture observer's attention, so that their processing results prioritized). The goal of the present work was to systematically review the empirical evidence of a change in face processing during pregnancy. Moreover, we explored whether face processing is associated with antenatal depression and anxiety and the extent to which this is part of a potential mechanism to explain detrimental effects of maternal psychopathology on infant outcomes. We identified 19 relevant studies and discussed them based on their methodological qualities. The results of the review suggest that even though it is not possible to draw firm conclusions, pregnancy is likely to be a plasticity window for face processing at the behavioral and neural levels. Evidence confirms the detrimental effect of depression and anxiety on face processing during pregnancy. Clinical implications for parenting interventions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro De Carli
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova (PD), Italy.
| | - Ilaria Costantini
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova (PD), Italy; Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol BS14 8TF, United Kingdom.
| | - Paola Sessa
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova (PD), Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova (PD), Italy.
| | - Silvia Visentin
- Department of Woman and Child's Health, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani, 3, 35128 Padova (PD), Italy.
| | - Rebecca M Pearson
- Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol BS14 8TF, United Kingdom.
| | - Alessandra Simonelli
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova (PD), Italy.
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Stickel S, Eickhoff S, Goecke TW, Schneider F, Quinete NS, Lang J, Habel U, Chechko N. Cumulative cortisol exposure in the third trimester correlates with postpartum mothers' neural response to emotional interference. Biol Psychol 2019; 143:53-61. [PMID: 30797948 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Revised: 02/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged stress affects the central nervous system, rendering individuals vulnerable to a wide range of mental health disorders. 76 healthy postpartum mothers were studied by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging within 6 days of childbirth. The subjects were required to perform the emotional Stroop task involving happy and anxious word-face combinations. Hair samples were collected to determine cumulative hair cortisol concentration (HCC) in the third trimester. HCC was found to be negatively correlated with the recruitment of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the midcingulate cortex (MCC). In response to the emotional interference of only anxious target faces, a negative correlation was seen between HCC and the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex, extending to the rostral ACC and the MCC. Women with lower HCC recruited brain areas relevant to emotional cognitive control, indicating that lower HCC helps preserve conflict monitoring and resolution capacities and thus benefits mental health in pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Stickel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - S Eickhoff
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - T W Goecke
- RoMed Hospital Rosenheim, Department of Obstetrics, Rosenheim, Germany
| | - F Schneider
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; University Hospital, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - N S Quinete
- Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, FL, USA
| | - J Lang
- Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - U Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - N Chechko
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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28
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Barba-Müller E, Craddock S, Carmona S, Hoekzema E. Brain plasticity in pregnancy and the postpartum period: links to maternal caregiving and mental health. Arch Womens Ment Health 2019; 22:289-299. [PMID: 30008085 PMCID: PMC6440938 DOI: 10.1007/s00737-018-0889-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Pregnancy and the postpartum period involve numerous physiological adaptations that enable the development and survival of the offspring. A distinct neural plasticity characterizes the female brain during this period, and dynamic structural and functional changes take place that accompany fundamental behavioral adaptations, stimulating the female to progress from an individual with self-directed needs to being responsible for the care of another life. While many animal studies detail these modifications, an emerging body of research reveals the existence of reproduction-related brain plasticity in human mothers too. Additionally, associations with aspects of maternal caregiving point to adaptive changes that benefit a woman's transition to motherhood. However, the dynamic changes that affect a woman's brain are not merely adaptive, and they likely confer a vulnerability for the development of mental disorders. Here, we review the changes in brain structure and function that a woman undergoes during the peripartum period, outlining associations between these neural alterations and different aspects of maternal care. We additionally discuss peripartum mood disorders and postpartum psychosis, and review the neuroimaging studies that investigate the neural bases of these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Barba-Müller
- Brain and Development Research Center, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands ,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands ,University Institute of Mental Health Vidal i Barraquer, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sinéad Craddock
- Brain and Development Research Center, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands ,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Susanna Carmona
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain ,Unidad de Medicina y Cirugía Experimental, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain ,Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elseline Hoekzema
- Brain and Development Research Center, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands. .,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands.
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Potential Brain Age Reversal after Pregnancy: Younger Brains at 4-6 Weeks Postpartum. Neuroscience 2018; 386:309-314. [PMID: 30017956 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 06/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Pregnancy is accompanied by complex biological adaptations, including extreme hormonal fluctuations. Moreover, changes on the endocrine level are accompanied by changes in cerebral anatomy, such as reductions in brain or gray matter volume. Since declining brain and tissue volumes are characteristic for normal aging, the question arises of whether such pregnancy-induced anatomical effects are permanent or transient. To answer this question, we acquired high-resolution brain image data of 14 healthy women in their mid-twenties to late thirties at two time points: within 1-2 days of childbirth (early postpartum) and at 4-6 weeks after childbirth (late postpartum). At both time points, we estimated the brain ages for each woman using a well-validated machine learning approach based on pattern recognition. Ultimately, this algorithm - designed to identify anatomical correlates of age across the entire brain - reveals a single score for each individual: the BrainAGE index. Comparing the BrainAGE indices between both time points, female brains at late postpartum were estimated to be considerably younger than at early postpartum. On average, that difference was about five years (mean ± SD: 5.4 ± 2.4 years). These findings suggest a substantial restoration/rejuvenation effect after giving birth, which is evident already within the first couple of months.
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Zheng JX, Chen YC, Chen H, Jiang L, Bo F, Feng Y, Tang WW, Yin X, Gu JP. Disrupted Spontaneous Neural Activity Related to Cognitive Impairment in Postpartum Women. Front Psychol 2018; 9:624. [PMID: 29774003 PMCID: PMC5944019 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Prior research has demonstrated that the postpartum period is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. This study aims to investigate whether disrupted spontaneous neural activity exists in postpartum women without depression using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and to detect the relationship between these abnormalities and cognitive impairment. Materials and Methods: Postpartum women (n = 22) were compared with age- and education-matched nulliparous women (n = 23) using rs-fMRI. We calculated the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) values to evaluate spontaneous neural activity and detect the relationship between rs-fMRI data and cognitive performance. Results: Relative to nulliparous women, postpartum women had significantly decreased ALFF and ReHo values primarily in the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and prefrontal cortex and increased ALFF values in left cerebellar posterior lobe. We found a positive correlation between the ALFF and ReHo values in the PCC and the complex figure test (CFT)-delayed scores in postpartum women (r = 0.693, p = 0.001; r = 0.569, p = 0.011, respectively). Moreover, the clock-drawing test (CDT) scores showed positive correlations with the ALFF and ReHo values in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG; r = 0.492, p = 0.033; r = 0.517, p = 0.023, respectively). Conclusion: Our combined ALFF and ReHo analyses revealed decreased spontaneous neural activity, mainly in the PCC and prefrontal cortex, which was correlated with specific impaired cognitive functioning in postpartum women. This study may elucidate the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying postpartum cognitive impairment and enhance our understanding of the neurobiological aspects of the postpartum period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Xia Zheng
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Chen Chen
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Huiyou Chen
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Liang Jiang
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fan Bo
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuan Feng
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wen-Wei Tang
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing, China
| | - Xindao Yin
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jian-Ping Gu
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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31
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Osório FL, de Paula Cassis JM, Machado de Sousa JP, Poli-Neto O, Martín-Santos R. Sex Hormones and Processing of Facial Expressions of Emotion: A Systematic Literature Review. Front Psychol 2018; 9:529. [PMID: 29695991 PMCID: PMC5904259 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: We systematically reviewed the literature to determine the influence of sex hormones on facial emotion processing (FEP) in healthy women at different phases of life. Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, LILACS, and SciELO. Twenty-seven articles were included in the review and allocated into five different categories according to their objectives and sample characteristics (menstrual cycle, oral contraceptives, pregnancy/postpartum, testosterone, and progesterone). Results: Despite the limited number of studies in some categories and the existence of inconsistencies in the results of interest, the findings of the review suggest that FEP may be enhanced during the follicular phase. Studies with women taking oral contraceptives showed reduced recognition accuracy and decreased responsiveness of different brain structures during FEP tasks. Studies with pregnant women and women in the postpartum showed that hormonal changes are associated with alterations in FEP and in brain functioning that could indicate the existence of a hypervigilant state in new and future mothers. Exogenous administration of testosterone enhanced the recognition of threatening facial expressions and the activation of brain structures involved in the processing of emotional stimuli. Conclusions: We conclude that sex hormones affect FEP in women, which may have an impact in adaptive processes of the species and in the onset of mood symptoms associated with the premenstrual syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flávia L. Osório
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana M. de Paula Cassis
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - João P. Machado de Sousa
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Omero Poli-Neto
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Rocio Martín-Santos
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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32
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Sundström Poromaa I, Comasco E, Georgakis MK, Skalkidou A. Sex differences in depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period. J Neurosci Res 2017; 95:719-730. [PMID: 27870443 PMCID: PMC5129485 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Revised: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Women have a lifetime risk of major depression double that of men but only during their reproductive years. This sex difference has been attributed partially to activational effects of female sex steroids and also to the burdens of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. Men, in contrast, have a reproductive period difficult to delineate, and research on the mental health of men has rarely considered the effects of fatherhood. However, the couple goes through a number of potentially stressing events during the reproductive period, and both mothers and fathers are at risk of developing peripartum depression. This Review discusses the literature on maternal and paternal depression and the endocrine changes that may predispose a person to depression at this stage of life, with specific focus on the hypothalamus–pituitary axis, oxytocin, and testosterone levels in men. Important findings on sex differences in the neural correlates of maternal and paternal behavior have emerged, highlighting the relevance of the emotional brain in mothers and the sociocognitive brain in fathers and pointing toward the presence of a common parents' brain. Additionally, sex differences in neurogenesis and brain plasticity are described in relation to peripartum depression. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Neuroscience Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marios K Georgakis
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Alkistis Skalkidou
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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33
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Understanding Peripartum Depression Through Neuroimaging: a Review of Structural and Functional Connectivity and Molecular Imaging Research. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2017; 19:70. [PMID: 28823105 PMCID: PMC5617352 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-017-0824-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Imaging research has sought to uncover brain structure, function, and metabolism in women with postpartum depression (PPD) as little is known about its underlying pathophysiology. This review discusses the imaging modalities used to date to evaluate postpartum depression and highlights recent findings. RECENT FINDINGS Altered functional connectivity and activity changes in brain areas implicated in executive functioning and emotion and reward processing have been identified in PPD. Metabolism changes involving monoamine oxidase A, gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, serotonin, and dopamine have additionally been reported. To date, no studies have evaluated gray matter morphometry, voxel-based morphometry, surface area, cortical thickness, or white matter tract integrity in PPD. Recent imaging studies report changes in functional connectivity and metabolism in women with PPD vs. healthy comparison women. Future research is needed to extend these findings as they have important implications for the prevention and treatment of postpartum mood disorders.
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Abstract
New mothers undergo dynamic neural changes that support positive adaptation to parenting and the development of mother-infant relationships. In this article, I review important psychological adaptations that mothers experience during pregnancy and the early postpartum period. I then review evidence of structural and functional plasticity in human mothers' brains, and explore how such plasticity supports mothers' psychological adaptation to parenting and sensitive maternal behaviors. Last, I discuss pregnancy and the early postpartum period as a window of vulnerabilities and opportunities when the human maternal brain is influenced by stress and psychopathology, but also receptive to interventions.
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35
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Emotional anticipation after delivery - a longitudinal neuroimaging study of the postpartum period. Sci Rep 2017; 7:114. [PMID: 28273912 PMCID: PMC5427895 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-00146-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging research has begun to unveil the mechanisms behind emotion processing during the postpartum period, which, in turn, may be of relevance for the development of postpartum depression. The present study sought to longitudinally investigate the neural correlates of emotion anticipation during the postpartum period in healthy women. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was employed to measure the blood oxygen level-dependent signal in the brain in response to anticipation of negative emotional stimuli and during processing of images with positive or negative valence. The participating women were scanned twice: the first scan occurred during the first 48 hours after delivery, and the second was performed 4–6 weeks after delivery. The early postpartum period was characterized by higher anterior cingulate cortex reactivity during anticipation of negative emotional stimuli than the late postpartum period. This was accompanied by a negative relationship with insular reactivity during the early postpartum period and a trend towards an increase in insular reactivity in the late postpartum period. Thus, during the first four weeks of the postpartum period, a diminished top-down regulatory feedback on emotion-related areas of the brain was noted. This finding suggests a physiologically important adaptation during the healthy postpartum period.
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36
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Pawluski JL, Lonstein JS, Fleming AS. The Neurobiology of Postpartum Anxiety and Depression. Trends Neurosci 2017; 40:106-120. [PMID: 28129895 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2016.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2016] [Revised: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Ten to twenty percent of postpartum women experience anxiety or depressive disorders, which can have detrimental effects on the mother, child, and family. Little is known about the neural correlates of these affective disorders when they occur in mothers, but they do have unique neural profiles during the postpartum period compared with when they occur at other times in a woman's life. Given that the neural systems affected by postpartum anxiety and depression overlap and interact with the systems involved in maternal caregiving behaviors, mother-infant interactions are highly susceptible to disruption. Thus, there is an intricate interplay among maternal mental health, the mother-infant relationship, and the neurobiological mechanisms mediating them that needs to be the focus of future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jodi L Pawluski
- Inserm U1085-IRSET, Université de Rennes 1, Campus Villejean, 35000 Rennes, France.
| | - Joseph S Lonstein
- Neuroscience Program & Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
| | - Alison S Fleming
- Psychology and Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development, University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM), Mississauga, ONT L5L1C6, Canada
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37
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Neural Modulation in Aversive Emotion Processing: An Independent Component Analysis Study. COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN MEDICINE 2016; 2016:2816567. [PMID: 27579051 PMCID: PMC4992784 DOI: 10.1155/2016/2816567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Emotional processing has an important role in social interaction. We report the findings about the Independent Component Analysis carried out on a fMRI set obtained with a paradigm of face emotional processing. The results showed that an independent component, mainly cerebellar-medial-frontal, had a positive modulation associated with fear processing. Also, another independent component, mainly parahippocampal-prefrontal, showed a negative modulation that could be associated with implicit reappraisal of emotional stimuli. Independent Component Analysis could serve as a method to understand complex cognitive processes and their underlying neural dynamics.
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38
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Sleep duration, depression, and oxytocinergic genotype influence prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex in postpartum women. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2016; 26:767-76. [PMID: 26857197 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2016.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2015] [Revised: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The postpartum period is characterized by a post-withdrawal hormonal status, sleep deprivation, and susceptibility to affective disorders. Postpartum mothering involves automatic and attentional processes to screen out new external as well as internal stimuli. The present study investigated sensorimotor gating in relation to sleep duration, depression, as well as catecholaminergic and oxytocinergic genotypes in postpartum women. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex and startle reactivity were assessed two months postpartum in 141 healthy and 29 depressed women. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met, and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) rs237885 and rs53576 polymorphisms were genotyped, and data on sleep duration were collected. Short sleep duration (less than four hours in the preceding night) and postpartum depression were independently associated with lower PPI. Also, women with postpartum depression had higher startle reactivity in comparison with controls. The OXTR rs237885 genotype was related to PPI in an allele dose-dependent mode, with T/T healthy postpartum women carriers displaying the lowest PPI. Reduced sensorimotor gating was associated with sleep deprivation and depressive symptoms during the postpartum period. Individual neurophysiological vulnerability might be mediated by oxytocinergic genotype which relates to bonding and stress response. These findings implicate the putative relevance of lower PPI of the startle response as an objective physiological correlate of liability to postpartum depression.
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