Prenatal depression is associated with alterations in gray matter in infants and young children; however, the relationship between postpartum depression and white matter development in children’s brains is unclear. A recent study examined associations between perinatal depressive symptoms and magnetic resonance imaging measures of cortical thickness and white matter structure in children aged 2.6–5.1 years old. Women provided Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores during each trimester of pregnancy and again at 3 months postpartum. Postpartum EPDS scores were negatively correlated with children’s right superior frontal cortical thickness and with diffusivity in white matter originating from that region, even after correcting for prenatal EPDS. The reduced thickness and diffusivity suggest premature brain development in children exposed to maternal perinatal depressive symptoms. The underlying mechanisms for these observations are not clear, yet some possible explanations include hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies, and epigenetics. The results emphasize the necessity for optimal maternal mental health throughout the perinatal period, because of the influence that maternal depressive symptoms have on the brain development of the children.
Lebel C et al. Biol Psychiatry 2016;80(11):859-68.