Summary: A new study suggests that increased activity in the brain’s amygdala during pregnancy may indicate an increased risk of postpartum depression. A study comparing pregnant and non-pregnant women found that women with significantly increased amygdala activity had more difficulty regulating their emotions and reported more symptoms of depression.
This finding may lead to earlier identification of at-risk mothers and targeted emotion regulation training. Although still preliminary, this finding has the potential to lead to new strategies for preventing postpartum depression.
Key Facts:
Higher amygdala activity in pregnant women has been linked to symptoms of depression. Pregnant women may have a harder time consciously regulating their negative emotions. Future treatments may focus on training emotion regulation during pregnancy.
Source: European Society of Neuropsychopharmacology
After giving birth, around 80% of women suffer from the “baby blues.” This is usually a short period of low mood that goes away after a few days. However, around one in seven women develops postpartum depression, a more serious form of depression that can affect the bond between mother and baby and have long-term consequences. These women can’t seem to control the negative feelings that can arise after giving birth.
Now, a group of European researchers has found that in healthy pregnant women, activity in specific regions deep within the brain is associated with the regulation of negative emotions and a tendency toward symptoms of depression.
The researchers hope that by examining how this activity and emotions are regulated, they may be able to identify women at risk of postnatal depression.
“This is a promising breakthrough for our industry,” said Franziska Weinmar (University of Tübingen, Germany), who presented the research at the ECNP conference in Milan.
“This is one of the first studies to compare brain activity in pregnant and non-pregnant women. The ability to regulate emotions is essential for mental health, and this interplay was our starting point.”
The researchers studied 15 healthy pregnant women with very high estrogen levels due to pregnancy. The women were in the fifth or sixth month after giving birth for the first time. They compared these women with 32 non-pregnant women whose estrogen levels naturally fluctuated during their menstrual cycle.
Each woman was placed in an MRI scanner and shown upsetting or disturbing images, after which she was asked to regulate her emotional state using cognitive reappraisal, a technique that aims to modify your emotional state by changing your thoughts and reinterpreting the situation.
Franziska Weinmer added:
“We asked all the women in the study how they dealt with negative emotions and found that, in contrast to non-pregnant women, pregnant women reported rarely trying to change their emotional perspective using cognitive reappraisal.
“However, when asked to control their emotions while undergoing an MRI scan, they were able to control their emotional state just as well as non-pregnant women.
“While pregnant and non-pregnant women have a similar ability to manage their emotions by deliberately reinterpreting situations, it appears that pregnant women have a harder time taking this step to consciously control these negative emotions, even if they are able to cope in other ways.
“MRI scans showed that pregnant women who had greater amygdala activity while regulating their emotions were less successful at regulating their emotions. What’s more, pregnant women with greater amygdala activity reported more symptoms of depression.”
Franziska Weinmar continues: “We have to be careful in interpreting this. It’s a small sample and this is the first time we’ve undertaken this research.”
“However, if larger studies confirm that women at risk for postpartum depression have greater amygdala activity, we could assess these women during this vulnerable period and specifically target them, for example by training them in emotion regulation skills. This could be one approach to addressing postpartum depression.”
Dr. Susana Carmona (Gregorio Marañón Hospital, Madrid) commented:
“Studies like this are essential to understanding pregnancy, one of the most demanding physiological processes humans experience. It’s surprising how little we still know. Recently, the FDA approved the first treatment for postpartum depression.”
“However, we still have a long way to go to understand what happens in the brain during pregnancy, to identify biomarkers that indicate risk for developing perinatal psychiatric disorders, and to design strategies to prevent suffering for mothers and infants during the delicate and crucial perinatal period.”
This is an independent comment and Dr. Carmona was not involved in the study.
News about postpartum depression and neuroscience research
Author: Tom Parkhill
Source: European Society of Neuropsychopharmacology
Contact: Tom Parkhill – European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Image: This image is provided by Neuroscience News
Original research: Findings will be presented at the 37th ECNP Congress
