Anhedonia in postpartum rats

Brittany M NAVARRE; Jillian D LAGGART; Rebecca M CRAFT

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.10.011

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Anhedonia in postpartum rats

Brittany M NAVARRE, Jillian D LAGGART and Rebecca M CRAFT

Physiology & behavior, Vol.99(1), pp.59-66

2010

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.10.011

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https://hdl.handle.net/2376/104652

PMCID: PMC2795085

PMID: 19850056

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Abstract

Behavioral psychophysiology

Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry

Adult and adolescent clinical studies

Psychology. Psychophysiology

Biological and medical sciences

Depression

Medical sciences

Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease)

Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology

Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer

Pharmacology. Drug treatments

Psychopathology. Psychiatry

Mood disorders

Neuropharmacology

Psychopharmacology

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a debilitating illness, yet little is known about its causes. The purpose of this study was to examine a major symptom of depression during the postpartum period, anhedonia, by comparing sucrose preference in female rats that had undergone actual pregnancy or hormone-simulated pregnancy (HSP) to their respective controls. Whereas HSP rats showed significantly less preference than vehicle control rats for 1% sucrose solution during the first three weeks of the “postpartum” period, previously pregnant females showed only slightly depressed sucrose preference for the first 1–2 days postpartum, compared to non-pregnant controls. Habituation to 1% sucrose during the pregnancy period, which increased preference upon later testing in previously pregnant rats tested on postpartum day 2, did not significantly increase preference in HSP rats, suggesting that depressed preference in the latter group was not due to neophobia. Pre-treatment with desipramine did not prevent suppressed sucrose preference in HSP rats, and preference was even further suppressed following chronic sertraline treatment. These results suggest that estradiol withdrawal following HSP may cause anhedonia during the early “postpartum” period. In contrast, females that have undergone actual pregnancy are less likely to show this effect, suggesting that postpartum hormonal changes other than the dramatic decline in estradiol may buffer its negative mood effects.

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Title: Anhedonia in postpartum rats
Creators: Brittany M NAVARRE - Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4820, United States
Jillian D LAGGART - Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4820, United States
Rebecca M CRAFT - Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4820, United States
Publication Details: Physiology & behavior, Vol.99(1), pp.59-66
Academic Unit: Psychology, Department of
Publisher: Elsevier; Amsterdam
Number of pages: 8
Grant note: MH070381 / National Institute of Mental Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R03MH070381 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Identifiers: 99900546942901842
Language: English
Resource Type: Accepted manuscript