School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Behav Brain Res. 2012 Mar 1;228(1):159-68. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.11.043. Epub 2011 Dec 6.
The incidence of stress and stress-related disorders with the transition to motherhood, such as postpartum depression, is estimated to be 20%. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications are currently the antidepressant of choice to treat maternal mood disorders. However, little is known about the effects of these medications on the maternal brain and behavior. Therefore, the present study investigated how a commonly used SSRI, fluoxetine, affects neurobehavioral outcomes in the mother using a model of maternal adversity. To do this, gestationally stressed and non-stressed Sprague-Dawley rat dams were treated with either fluoxetine (5 mg/kg/day) or vehicle. Dams were divided into four groups: (1) Control + Vehicle, (2) Control + Fluoxetine, (3) Stress + Vehicle and (4) Stress + Fluoxetine. Fluoxetine or vehicle was administered to the dam during the postpartum period via osmotic minipump implants (Alzet) for 28 days. Results show that chronic fluoxetine treatment, after exposure to gestational stress, significantly decreased serum levels of corticosteroid binding globulin and increased hippocampal neurogenesis. In the absence of maternal stress, fluoxetine treatment alone significantly increased maternal arched-back nursing of pups, increased anxiety-related behavior, and decreased serum levels of corticosterone and corticosteroid binding globulin in the dam. This research provides important information on how SSRIs may act on the behavior, physiology, and neural plasticity of the mother. Although this is a first step in investigating the role of antidepressant treatment on the mother, much more work is needed before we can understand and improve the efficacy of these medications to treat mood disorders in pregnant and postpartum women.
母亲过渡到母亲身份时的压力和与压力相关的疾病的发病率，如产后抑郁症，估计为 20%。选择性 5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂 (SSRI) 药物目前是治疗产妇情绪障碍的首选抗抑郁药。然而，人们对这些药物对产妇大脑和行为的影响知之甚少。因此，本研究通过母体逆境模型调查了常用的 SSRI 氟西汀如何影响母亲的神经行为结果。为此，对妊娠期应激和非应激的 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠进行了处理，给予氟西汀（5mg/kg/天）或载体。将孕鼠分为四组：（1）对照+载体，（2）对照+氟西汀，（3）应激+载体和（4）应激+氟西汀。通过 Alzet 渗透微型泵植入物在产后期间向母体连续 28 天给予氟西汀或载体。结果表明，在暴露于妊娠期应激后，慢性氟西汀治疗显着降低了皮质类固醇结合球蛋白的血清水平并增加了海马神经发生。在没有母体应激的情况下，单独给予氟西汀治疗显着增加了母鼠对幼鼠的拱形背部护理，增加了焦虑相关行为，并降低了母体的皮质酮和皮质类固醇结合球蛋白的血清水平。这项研究提供了有关 SSRI 如何作用于母亲的行为、生理和神经可塑性的重要信息。尽管这是调查抗抑郁治疗对母亲作用的第一步，但在我们能够理解并提高这些药物治疗孕妇和产后妇女情绪障碍的疗效之前，还需要做更多的工作。
