Brain scans revealed differences in gray matter between women who experienced post-pregnancy depression and women with major depressive disorder, a study found.
The study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, provides a biological basis for distinguishing postpartum depression from depression, which can occur at any time after childbirth.
In both cases, it is common to lose interest in activities once found enjoyable. However, postpartum depression may be involved symptoms Related to being a mother, such as sleep problems, guilt, and baby anxiety.
The researchers analyzed MRI brain scans of 64 women with major depressive disorder with or without a history of post-pregnancy depression to identify gray matter differences.
“We found bilateral gray matter clusters within the basal ganglia (in the cerebrum), an area important for motivation, decision-making, and emotional processing, to be larger in women with a history of peripartum depression, compared to women who had only experienced depressive episodes outside of this period,” the first said author Yasmin A. Harrington, a PhD candidate at Vita-Salute San Rafael University, Milan, Italy.
The researchers explained that the involvement of sex hormones can differentiate post-pregnancy depression from major depressive disorder.
Previous studies have found that women are more prone to this problem Post-pregnancy conditions Estradiol and progesterone in particular are sensitive to rapid rises and falls in hormone levels.
Sex hormones have been studied to significantly affect brain structure and function, which in turn affects maternal behavior.
“We were surprised that the effect of peripartum depression could be seen after the episode, suggesting that these differences are related to the neurobiology of the disorder rather than the specific episode,” Harrington said.
Scores reflecting mothers’ genetic susceptibility to estradiol levels were calculated to determine whether their brains were affected differently based on a history of peripartum depression, explained lead researcher Francesco Benedetti, professor of psychiatry at Vita-Salute San Rafael University.
“Our findings show that estradiol genetic scores have a positive effect on basal ganglia volume in women with peripartum depression and a negative effect on women without peripartum depression, suggesting a differential effect of genetic load from estradiol on brain structure based on a history of peripartum depression,” said Benedetti.
“Our findings show that women who have experienced a peripartum episode are neurobiologically different from women without a history of postpartum depression in a cluster within the basal ganglia, a region important for motivation, decision-making and emotional processing,” the authors wrote.
📣 For more lifestyle news, click here to join our WhatsApp channel and also follow us on Instagram