Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Curr Neuropharmacol. 2022;20(10):1988-2000. doi: 10.2174/1570159X20666220302101115.
The substantial female hormone fluctuations associated with pregnancy and postpartum have been linked to a greater risk of developing depressive symptoms, particularly in high-risk women (HRW), i.e. those with histories of mood sensitivity to female hormone fluctuations. We have shown that glutamate (Glu) levels in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) decrease during perimenopause, a period of increased risk of developing a major depressive episode. Our team has also demonstrated that percentage gray matter (%GM), another neural correlate of maternal brain health, decreases in the MPFC during pregnancy.
To investigate MPFC Glu levels and %GM from late pregnancy up to 7 weeks postpartum in HRW and healthy pregnant women (HPW).
Single-voxel spectra were acquired from the MPFC of 41 HPW and 22 HRW using 3- Tesla in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at five different time points.
We observed a statistically significant interaction between time and group for the metabolite Glu, with Glu levels being lower for HRW during pregnancy and early postpartum (p<0.05). MPFC %GM was initially lower during pregnancy and then significantly increased over time in both groups (p<0.01).
This investigation suggests that the vulnerability towards PPD is associated with unique fluctuations of MPFC Glu levels during pregnancy and early postpartum period. Our results also suggest that the decline in MPFC %GM associated with pregnancy seems to progressively recover over time. Further investigations are needed to determine the specific role that female hormones play on the physiological changes in %GM during pregnancy and postpartum.
与怀孕和产后相关的大量女性激素波动与发生抑郁症状的风险增加有关，尤其是在高危女性（HRW）中，即那些有情绪对女性激素波动敏感的病史的女性。我们已经表明，在围绝经期期间，中前额皮质（MPFC）中的谷氨酸（Glu）水平下降，这是发生重度抑郁症发作的风险增加的时期。我们的团队还表明，在怀孕期间，MPFC 中的灰质百分比（%GM），即母体大脑健康的另一个神经相关物，减少。
研究高危孕妇（HRW）和健康孕妇（HPW）在怀孕后期到产后 7 周期间 MPFC 的 Glu 水平和%GM。
使用 3T 体内质子磁共振波谱仪在五个不同时间点从 41 名 HPW 和 22 名 HRW 的 MPFC 采集单体谱。
我们观察到代谢物 Glu 的时间和组之间存在统计学上的显著交互作用，HRW 在怀孕期间和产后早期的 Glu 水平较低（p<0.05）。MPFC %GM 在怀孕期间最初较低，然后在两组中随时间显著增加（p<0.01）。
这项研究表明，PPD 的易感性与怀孕和产后早期 MPFC Glu 水平的独特波动有关。我们的结果还表明，与怀孕相关的 MPFC %GM 下降似乎随时间逐渐恢复。需要进一步的研究来确定女性激素在怀孕期间和产后 %GM 生理变化中的具体作用。
