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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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Oxytocin and postpartum depression: delivering on what's known and what's not

Sohye Kim1, Timothy A Soeken2, Sara J Cromer2

  • 1Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Attachment and Neurodevelopment Laboratory, Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Street, Suite 4004, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Brain Research
|November 19, 2013
PubMed

The role of oxytocin in the treatment of postpartum depression has been a topic of growing interest. This subject carries important implications, given that postpartum depression can have detrimental effects on both the mother and her infant, with lifelong consequences for infant socioemotional and cognitive development. In recent years, oxytocin has received attention for its potential role in many neuropsychiatric conditions beyond its well-described functions in childbirth and lactation. In the present review, we present available data on the clinical characteristics and neuroendocrine foundations of postpartum depression. We outline current treatment modalities and their limitations, and proceed to evaluate the potential role of oxytocin in the treatment of postpartum depression. The aim of the present review is twofold: (a) to bring together evidence from animal and human research concerning the role of oxytocin in postpartum depression, and (b) to highlight areas that deserve further research in order to bring a fuller understanding of oxytocin's therapeutic potential. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Oxytocin and Social Behav.

Keywords:
InfantMaternal caregivingOxytocinPostpartum depressionTreatment

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