NRSC 4132 Blog

Depression... Baby or no Baby?
"Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 19% of all mothers and adversely influences maternal adaptation to motherhood (Gavin et al, 2005) with negative effects on child development, as children of depressive mothers are more vulnerable to develop mental disorders in later life." (Grace et al, 2003)

Every father remembers the day they found out that their wife was going to have a baby! With all the excitement, most fail to acknowledge the mood swings between trimesters and well after the pregnancy. There is more to pregnancy then peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. So, what gives? As the growing baby starts to develop so do new hormones and hormone levels also increase.

Oxytocin is one of the first identified polypeptide hormone also known as the "love hormone." Oxytocin is responsible for increase bonding feeling associated with pregnancy. This study suggests that low levels of oxytocin have a higher risk of postpartum depression. There are other risk factors that can increase chances of postpartum depression such as age under 20, drug/alcohol abuse, increase emotional vulnerability and lack of support.

This study proposed by National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Swiss Etiological Study of Adjustment and Mental Health took 75 pregnant females and tested their levels of oxytocin during the last two weeks of their third trimester along with two weeks after giving birth. After their study they concluded that increasing the level of oxytocin during pregnancy could decrease the severity of postpartum depression.

The researchers did their best to find equal candidates for the study. The research was focused on same age females within the same economic status along with a healthy pregnancy. "A detailed study description was given to all interested women and, if any raised, questions were answered. All participants were screened for the following inclusion criteria: (a) no current mental illness, (b) no severe medical complications (acute or chronic physical diseases, such as gestational diabetes, metabolic diseases, hypertension and thyroid dysfunction), (c) no signs of fetal malformation, (d) a pre-pregnancy BMI below 32, (e) no smoking beyond the 10th week of gestation and (f) good knowledge of German language."

The researchers also discuss that this is one of the first studies done to link postpartum depression and oxytocin levels. They stated that more research needs to be done to see if increasing the levels of oxytocin could help prevent postpartum depression in females. One thing that they acknowledge is that the environment could be influencing the sign and symptoms of postpartum depression.

This was very informational article about oxytocin and postpartum depression. One thing that I find myself amazed on is that oxytocin is also given to induce labor. If increasing the levels helps prevent postpartum depression at what point do we higher the levels, hours before pregnancy, days before or weeks before? If we raise the level, will this also induce labor at a unsafe time in pregnancy?

If you are interested in the original article please reference this online journal at http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v36/n9/full/npp201174a.html

Those of us in dating in high school in the late 80′s can attest to the stinging truth revealed in Def Leppard?s song, ?Love Bites? shortly after a nasty break-up. But it was only recently that scientists employing state-of-the-art brain imaging fMRI technology have been able to view the similarities between the biting pain of rejection from a lover and physical pain.

A study published in the April 12 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) has provided the most direct evidence showing a common brain circuit underlying the pain of rejection and physical pain.

In their study, the researchers at Columbia University, University of Michigan and University of Colorado, Boulder studied 40 subjects who had experienced rejection and break-up with a lover within the past six months. They tested each subject on two tasks, a social rejection task and a physical pain task, while imaging their brains.

In the scanner, subjects looked at the faces of their ex and thought about how it felt during their split and a snapshot of their brain was taken. Next they were shown a headshot of a friend of the same sex as their former partner and thought about a recent positive experience they shared. This provided the social rejection condition.

To compare the social rejection experience to the experience of ?physical pain? they attached a thermal device to the volunteers? forearms and set it to produced a ?painful?, but not harmful level.

In both men and women, rejection and painful heat activated brain circuits underlying distress (e.g. Anterior Cingulate cortex) and the sensation of pain e.g. somatosensory cortex).

Although this seems seems intuitive from centuries of poetry, tragic plays and lyrics, knowledge at a mechanistic level showing the same circuits are activated gives scientists new ways to deal with both. It makes one wonder if taking pain-killers shortly after a break-up might be a treatment option.

The common mechanism between social rejection and physical pain may be one reason why heroin and alcohol, both analgesics for pain, are irresistible amongst country and grunge musicians whose melodic ruminations center on tragedy, angst and painful relationships. Kurt Cobain comes to mind when he said, ?Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art.?

Last year the British pop group ironically named, ?The Wanted?, brilliantly connected the idea that pain from being unwanted/rejected and searing physical pain were one and the same in their popular song ?Lose My Mind?. Here are the lyrics and the video

They say that time
Heals everything
But they don?t know you
And the scars you bring

?Cos you left a jagged hole
And I can?t stand it anymore

If heartache was a physical pain
I could face it I could face it
But you?re hurting me
From inside of my head
I can?t take it I can?t take it

I?m gonna lose my mind
I?m gonna lose my mind

I?d erase my thoughts
If only I knew how
Fill my head with white noise
If it would drown you out
Kill the sound

If heartache was a physical pain
I could face it I could face it

But you?re hurting me
From inside of my head
I can?t take it I can?t take it

I?m gonna lose my mind
I?m gonna lose my mind

And I?d rather be crazy
I?d rather go insane
Than having you stalk
My every thought
Then having you here inside my heart

If heartache was a physical pain
I could face it I could face it
But you?re hurting me
From inside of my head
I can?t take it I can?t take it

I?m gonna lose my mind
I?m gonna lose my mind