Department of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westborough Road, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
J Affect Disord. 2018 Mar 15;229:213-223. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.089. Epub 2018 Jan 2.
Continued development and refinement of resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) fMRI techniques in both animal and clinical studies has enhanced our comprehension of the adverse effects of stress on psychiatric health. The objective of the current study was to assess both maternal behavior and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) changes in these animals when they were dams caring for their own young. It was hypothesized that ECSS exposed dams would express depressed maternal care and exhibit similar (same networks), yet different specific changes in RSFC (different individual nuclei) than reported when they were adult females.
We have developed an ethologically relevant transgenerational model of the role of chronic social stress (CSS) in the etiology of postpartum depression and anxiety. Initial fMRI investigation of the CSS model indicates that early life exposure to CSS (ECSS) induces long term changes in functional connectivity in adult nulliparous female F1 offspring.
ECSS in F1 dams resulted in depressed maternal care specifically during early lactation, consistent with previous CSS studies, and induced changes in functional connectivity in regions associated with sensory processing, maternal and emotional responsiveness, memory, and the reward pathway, with robust changes in anterior cingulate circuits.
The sample sizes for the fMRI groups were low, limiting statistical power.
This behavioral and functional neuroanatomical foundation can now be used to enhance our understanding of the neural etiology of early life stress associated disorders and test preventative measures and treatments for stress related disorders.
在动物和临床研究中，静息态功能连接 (RSFC) fMRI 技术的不断发展和完善，增强了我们对压力对精神健康的不良影响的理解。本研究的目的是评估这些动物在照顾自己幼崽时的母性行为和静息态功能连接 (RSFC) 变化。我们假设 ECSS 暴露的母体会表现出抑郁的母性行为，并表现出与成年雌性时报告的类似（相同网络）但不同的 RSFC 特定变化（不同的个体核）。
我们开发了一种具有代际相关性的慢性社会应激 (CSS) 在产后抑郁和焦虑发病机制中的作用的模型。CSS 模型的初始 fMRI 研究表明，早期生活中接触 CSS（ECSS）会导致成年未育雌性 F1 后代的功能连接发生长期变化。
F1 母鼠的 ECSS 导致了哺乳期早期特定的母性行为抑郁，与之前的 CSS 研究一致，并诱导了与感觉处理、母性行为和情绪反应、记忆和奖励途径相关的区域的功能连接变化，前扣带回路有明显的变化。
fMRI 组的样本量较小，限制了统计效力。
现在可以利用这种行为和功能神经解剖学基础，来增强我们对与早期生活压力相关的疾病的神经病因的理解，并测试预防措施和治疗应激相关疾病的方法。
