Motherhood, Oxytocin and the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

母性、催产素和内侧前额皮质

• 批准号: 7519842
• 负责人: BENEDETTA J LEUNER
• 金额: $ 9万
• 依托单位: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-02 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7519842
• 关键词: Address; Adult; Age; Anxiety; Architecture; Attenuated; Award; Behavior; Behavior Therapy; Behavioral; Brain; Brain region; Caring; Cognitive; Dendritic Spines; Elevation; Endocrine; Environment; Estrogens; Excitatory Synapse; Exhibits; Faculty; Female; Glucocorticoids; Goals; Hormonal; Hormonal Change; Hormones; Human; Impaired cognition; Laboratories; Learning; Link; Maternal Behavior; Medial; Mediating; Memory; Mental disorders; Mentors; Mentorship; Mood Disorders; Mothers; Neuropeptides; Outcome; Oxytocin; Oxytocin Receptor; Parenting behavior; Phase; Play; Positioning Attribute; Postpartum Depression; Postpartum Period; Predisposition; Prefrontal Cortex; Research; Resistance; Rewards; Rodent; Role; Scientist; Site; Staging; Stress; Structure; Synapses; Training; Vertebral column; Woman; Work; design; experience; insight; male; motherhood; programs; relating to nervous system; research study; resilience; stress management; way finding

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The postpartum period is accompanied by dramatic endocrine and behavioral alterations. Among these changes are increased basal glucocorticoid levels and decreased estrogen levels. Elevated glucocorticoid and diminished estrogen levels have been associated with cognitive impairment and enhanced anxiety in adult virgin male and female rodents and yet, the majority of postpartum females do not exhibit these negative outcomes. Since motherhood is also associated with elevations in oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide that has been shown to buffer stress hormone effects on the brain and body, it's possible that OT protects against the potentially damaging postpartum hormonal milieu. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a brain region that has been linked to mood disorders, cognitive behavior and maternal care. The mPFC is also sensitive to hormones - both estrogen and glucocorticoids alter dendritic architecture and dendritic spines, sites of excitatory synapses, in the mPFC. During the mentored phase of the award in the laboratory of Prof. Elizabeth Gould, I will investigate whether the structure of the postpartum mPFC is resistant to the detrimental postpartum hormonal environment and whether these changes underlie mPFC dependent behaviors. This work will set the stage for the independent phase of the award which will involve examining whether OT in the mPFC mediates structural and/or behavioral resilience during the postpartum period. The immediate goal of this research is to elucidate the effects of motherhood on mPFC structure and function with the broader objective of obtaining a faculty position where I can continue to identify the factors and mechanisms which underlie resilience of the maternal brain as an independent scientist. Relevance: For many women, becoming a mother is one of the most significant and rewarding human experiences. However, the dramatic hormonal changes that occur during the postpartum period may predispose some new mothers to react negatively to the demands of parenting. Indeed, it is estimated that 10-15% of new mothers experience postpartum depression and/or anxiety. Since the mPFC and OT have been linked to maternal care and mood disorders, understanding motherhood and OT induced structural alterations of the mPFC and their behavioral consequences may provide insight into the mechanisms underlying predisposition and resistance to mental illness.

描述（由申请人提供）：产后时期伴随着戏剧性的内分泌和行为改变。在这些变化中，基础糖皮质激素水平升高和雌激素水平降低。糖皮质激素升高和雌激素水平降低与成年处女男性和雌性啮齿动物的认知障碍和焦虑增加有关，但是，大多数产后雌性都没有表现出这些负面结果。由于母性也与催产素（OT）的升高有关，催产素（OT）是一种神经肽，已证明可以缓解脑和身体的胁迫影响，因此OT可能会防止潜在的破坏产后荷尔蒙环境。内侧前额叶皮层（MPFC）是与情绪障碍，认知行为和孕产妇护理有关的大脑区域。 MPFC也对激素敏感 - 雌激素和糖皮质激素都改变了MPFC中的兴奋性突触部位的树突状结构和树突状棘。在伊丽莎白·古尔德（Elizabeth Gould）教授实验室的指导阶段，我将研究产后MPFC的结构是否对有害产后荷尔蒙环境有抵抗力，以及这些变化是否依赖于MPFC依赖性行为。这项工作将为奖励的独立阶段奠定阶段，该阶段将涉及检查MPFC中的OT是否在产后期间介导结构和/或行为弹性。这项研究的直接目的是阐明母性对MPFC结构的影响，并以更广泛的目标获得获得教师职位的更广泛的目标，我可以继续确定母体大脑作为独立科学家的弹性的因素和机制。相关性：对于许多女性而言，成为母亲是人类最重要，最有意义的经历之一。但是，产后期间发生的巨大激素变化可能会使一些新母亲对育儿的需求产生负面反应。确实，据估计，有10-15％的新妈妈经历了产后抑郁症和/或焦虑。由于MPFC和OT与孕产妇的护理和情绪障碍有关，因此了解母性和OT引起的MPFC的结构改变及其行为后果可能会洞悉对精神疾病的偏见和抵抗力的机制。