Correlation between emotional change during pregnant and postpartum period and neuronal structure in the amygdala

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26430038
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Nerve anatomy/Neuropathology
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Matsuda Ken Ichi 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (40315932)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: エストロゲン / 脳 / 情動 / 扁桃体 / 分界条床核 / 妊娠 / 出産

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In peripartum period, women tend to exhibit emotional instability. The ovarian steroid hormone environment is drastically changed during these periods, and this hormonal change may be an important cause of peripartum emotional instability. The amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is involved in the emotional response. In this research, change of the neuronal morphology in the central (CeA) and basolateral (BLA) nucleus of the amygdala and BNST was examined at mid- and late-gestation and early postpartum in rat. The dendritic spine density in the CeA, BLA and BNST was significantly decreased at early postpartum, compared with gestations. These results provide fundamental insights into the neuronal basis underlying emotional instability during pregnancy and postpartum. To examine molecular mechanism of these phenomena, global gene expression analysis was performed. It was found that gene expression profile was dramatically altered during peripartum period.

Free Research Field

神経解剖学　神経内分泌学