Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies of Postpartum Depression: An Overview

Abstract

Postpartum depression is a frequent and disabling condition whose pathophysiology is still unclear. In recent years, the study of the neural correlates of mental disorders has been increasingly approached using magnetic resonance techniques. In this review we synthesize the results from studies on postpartum depression in the context of structural, functional, and spectroscopic magnetic resonance studies of major depression as a whole. Compared to the relative wealth of data available for major depression, magnetic resonance studies of postpartum depression are limited in number and design. A systematic literature search yielded only eleven studies conducted on about one hundred mothers with postpartum depression overall. Brain magnetic resonance findings in postpartum depression appear to replicate those obtained in major depression, with minor deviations that are not sufficient to delineate a distinct neurobiological profile for this condition, due to the small samples used and the lack of direct comparisons with subjects with major depression. However, it seems reasonable to expect that studies conducted in larger populations, and using a larger variety of brain magnetic resonance techniques than has been done so far, might allow for the identification of neuroimaging signatures for postpartum depression.

Figure 1

Overview of brain structures playing a role in the neurobiological mechanisms of postpartum depression as disclosed by BOLD activation fMRI studies [–44]. Insula (INS), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), thalamus (T), nucleus accumbens (NA), amygdala (AMY), ventral striatum (VS), fusiform gyrus (FG), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). A template structural image provided with FSL software MNI 152 1 mm was used for anatomical reference. MNI coordinates of the selected slices are also indicated.