Mechanism for Postpartum Depression Found in Mice, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Study

NIH -- Researchers have pinpointed a mechanism in the brains of mice that could explain why some human mothers become depressed following childbirth. The discovery could lead to improved treatment for postpartum depression (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-what-every-woman-should-know/causes-of-depression.shtml).Supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, the study used genetically engineered mice lacking a protein critical for adapting to the sex hormone fluctuations of pregnancy and the postpartum period.