Neurophysiology of Postpartum Depression in an Experimental Model of Pregnancy and Parturition

Summary

Understanding the neural and biological mechanisms by which reproductive hormones influence mood is critically important for public health given that postpartum depression (PPD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality associated with childbirth and has negative effects on infants. Using a hormone-withdrawal challenge to precipitate mood symptoms will improve our ability to identify the biological mechanisms underlying both the triggering of and susceptibility to depressive disorders in women; and will permit the prediction of those at risk for PPD and other reproductive-related mood disorders.

Timeline

Start

2013-08

Primary completion

2016-10-13

Completion

2016-10-13

Publications

• Background Bloch M, Schmidt PJ, Danaceau M, Murphy J, Nieman L, Rubinow DR. Effects of gonadal steroids in women with a history of postpartum depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;157(6):924-30. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.6.924.
• Rudzinskas SA, Mazzu MA, Schiller CE, Meltzer-Brody S, Rubinow DR, Schmidt PJ, Goldman D. Divergent Transcriptomic Effects of Allopregnanolone in Postpartum Depression. Genes (Basel). 2023 Jun 8;14(6):1234. doi: 10.3390/genes14061234.
• Rudzinskas SA, Goff AC, Mazzu MA, Schiller CE, Meltzer-Brody S, Rubinow DR, Schmidt PJ, Goldman D. Intrinsically dysregulated cellular stress signaling genes and gene networks in postpartum depression. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Jul;28(7):3023-3032. doi: 10.1038/s41380-023-01985-5. Epub 2023 Feb 13.

Drugs

Indications