New research presented at the 37th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology studied the activity in the brain’s amygdala during pregnancy.
The amygdala is part of the temporal lobe and part of a larger network in the brain called the limbic system.
When it comes to survival, the amygdala and limbic system are extremely important. These are parts of the brain that automatically detect danger and play a role in behavior, emotional control and learning.
The researchers found that pregnant women with higher amygdala activity struggled more with emotional regulation and reported more depression symptoms postpartum.
This discovery could lead to early identification and targeted emotion regulation training for at-risk mothers. While preliminary, the findings offer potential for new strategies to prevent postpartum depression.
1 in 7 Women Develop Postpartum Depression
During pregnancy and the postpartum period, rising hormone levels create a “psychoneuroendocrinological window of vulnerability” for mental health.
80% of women develop often transitory “baby blues,” and about one in seven develop more serious postpartum depression.
According to the Mayo Clinic, postpartum depression symptoms may include:
- Depressed mood or severe mood swings
- Difficulty bonding with your baby
- Less interest and pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
- Intense irritability and anger
- Feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt or inadequacy
- Reduced ability to think clearly, concentrate or make decisions
- Severe anxiety and panic attacks
- Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
- Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
Symptoms usually develop within the first few weeks after giving birth. But they may begin earlier – during pregnancy – or later – up to a year after birth.
Untreated, postpartum depression may last for many months or longer.
Pregnancy Study
The research presented included 47 women — 15 pregnant women and 32 non-pregnant controls.
To examine brain activity, participants were asked to view negative emotional images while undergoing functional MRI. They were then asked to use cognitive reappraisal to regulate their emotional response to the images.
The findings suggested that both pregnant and non pregnant women were equally successful at emotional regulation, but this process involved different brain activity in pregnant vs their non pregnant counterpart.
All women had increased left middle frontal gyrus activity when regulating their emotions, but there was a difference in the amygdala between the pregnancy group and controls.
These results suggest that pregnant women may have to exert more neural effort in emotional regulation.
In addition, pregnant women with higher amygdala activity were less able to regulate their emotions successfully compared to those with less amygdala activity. Higher amygdala activity was also associated with higher depression scores.
Although the researchers stated they need to be cautious when interpreting their results because of the small sample size, they emphasized if the findings are confirmed by larger studies, pregnant women could be assessed “in the waiting room” using existing questionnaires that evaluate emotional regulation.
If a woman has difficulties with emotion regulation, there are adaptive strategies, like cognitive reappraisal that a counseling psychotherapist, group sessions or online courses could help with.
Research like this is crucial for gaining insight into one of the most intense physiological processes a human can undergo: Pregnancy. It’s remarkable how much remains unknown.
Recently, the FDA approved the first treatment for postpartum depression. However, experts emphasize that research like this is crucial for gaining insight into one of the most intense physiological processes a human can undergo: Pregnancy.
It’s remarkable how much remains unknown.