Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Published on: May 19, 2015
Regional cerebral activity abnormality in pregnant women with antenatal depression
Bochao Cheng1, Xiuli Wang2, Yushan Zhou3
1Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Insights
Antenatal depression (ATDP) involves altered brain activity in areas like the prefrontal cortex. These changes in intrinsic cerebral activity may offer insights into the neurobiology of ATDP.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Antenatal depression (ATDP) is a prevalent mental disorder during pregnancy.
- ATDP poses significant risks to maternal and offspring well-being, with unclear neurobiological underpinnings.
- Understanding ATDP's neurobiology is crucial for early detection and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate intrinsic cerebral activity alterations in ATDP patients.
- To identify differences in fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) between ATDP patients and healthy pregnant women.
- To explore correlations between functional brain abnormalities and clinical depression scores.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
- Voxel-based whole-brain analysis was used to compare fALFF values.
- 20 treatment-naïve ATDP patients and 22 healthy pregnant women (HPW) participated.
Main Results:
- ATDP patients exhibited increased fALFF in the left medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex.
- Decreased fALFF was observed in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex, right insula, right ventral temporal cortex (VTC), and parahippocampus (PHP).
- Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores negatively correlated with fALFF in the right VTC and PHP.
Conclusions:
- Aberrant regional functional activities in ATDP are primarily within the prefrontal-limbic circuit.
- Findings suggest multiple neural system abnormalities contribute to ATDP psychopathology.
- This research provides valuable insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of antenatal depression.
Background:
Antenatal depression (ATDP) is one of the most common mental disorders that occur during the antenatal period. As a serious problem in households around the world, ATDP has adverse consequences for both mothers and offspring and heavily burdens their families and society. However, until recently, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying ATDP remained unclear, which impeded early detection and intervention for this disorder.
Methods:
To explore the intrinsic cerebral activity alternations in ATDP, we investigated fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) differences in 20 treatment-naïve ATDP patients and 22 healthy pregnant women (HPW) using voxel-based whole-brain analysis by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The correlation between the regional functional abnormalities and clinical variables in ATDP patients was also examined.
Results:
Compared with HPW, ATDP patients showed increased fALFF in the left medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, as well as decreased fALFF in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex, the right insula, the cluster covering the right ventral temporal cortex (VTC) and the parahippocampus (PHP). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores of ATDP patients were negatively correlated with fALFF values in the right VTC and PHP.
Limitations:
The study is limited by a small sample size and the fact that only antenatal maternal women in the second and third trimesters were assessed.
Conclusion:
The aberrant regional functional activities of ATDP patients were mainly located within the prefrontal-limbic circuit related to multiple neural system abnormalities. This finding provides insight into the potential psychopathology of ATDP.
