ArticleNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2012
Increased glutamate levels in the medial prefrontal cortex in patients with postpartum depression.
Article in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurobiological insights into perinatal depression: a multi-dimensional integration of brain structure, function, and metabolism.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Neural correlates of peripartum depression: a systematic review, meta-analysis and comparison to major depressive disorder.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Studies on Glutamatergic Neurometabolite Levels in Major Depressive Disorder.Depression and anxiety · 2025Pooled it
- Structural, functional, and metabolic signatures of postpartum depression: A systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Ventromedial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex Glx, glutamate, and GABA levels in medication-free major depressive disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Glutamatergic neurometabolite levels in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies.Molecular psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Maternal Salivary Glutamate in Women Undergoing Vaginal Delivery: A Comparison Between Epidural Labor Analgesia and Systemic Morphine Analgesia.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Sex differences in the risk of autistic-related traits in toddlers born to mothers with perinatal depression: Evidence from human cohort and mouse study.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Maternal Salivary Glutamate Concentrations in Cesarean Delivery: A Prospective Comparison Between Spinal and General Anesthesia.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mapping neurophysiological biotypes of postpartum depression and underlying neural and molecular basis.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Biomarkers of reproductive psychiatric disorders.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2025Review
- Bridging Neurobiological Insights and Clinical Biomarkers in Postpartum Depression: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Neurobiological and Behavioral Underpinnings of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs): A Selective Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Disrupted topological organization of the default mode network in mild cognitive impairment with subsyndromal depression: A graph theoretical analysis.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Article
- The Role of Glutamine Homeostasis in Emotional and Cognitive Functions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Gestational stress decreases postpartum mitochondrial respiration in the prefrontal cortex of female rats.Neurobiology of stress · 2023Article
- Anxiety and depression: A top-down, bottom-up model of circuit function.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2023Review
- Postpartum depression in rats causes poor maternal care and neurochemical alterations on dams and long-lasting impairment in sociability on the offspring.Behavioural brain research · 2023Article
- Maternal major depression disorder misclassification errors: Remedies for valid individual- and population-level inference.Brain and behavior · 2022Article
- Prospective Investigation of Glutamate Levels and Percentage Gray Matter in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Females at Risk for Postpartum Depression.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) is a key brain area in depressive symptomatology; specifically, glutamate (Glu) has been reported to play a significant role in major depression (MD) in this area. MPFC Glu levels are sensitive to ovarian hormone fluctuations and pregnancy and the postpartum period are associated with the most substantial physiological alterations of female hormones. It is therefore logical to measure MPFC Glu levels in women with postpartum depression (PPD). Using in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at a field strength of 3 T, we acquired single-voxel spectra from the MPFC of 12 women with PPD and 12 healthy controls (HCs) matched for postpartum scan timing. Water-referenced MPFC Glu levels were measured using a MRS technique that allowed us to be specific for Glu with very little glutamine contamination. The concentrations of other water-quantified brain metabolites such as glycerophosphorylcholine plus phosphorylcholine, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and creatine plus phosphocreatine were measured in the same MR spectra. MPFC Glu levels were higher in women with PPD (7.21±1.20) compared to matched HCs (6.04±1.21). There were no differences between groups for other brain metabolites measured. These findings suggest an association between Glu dysregulation in the MPFC and PPD. Whether the pathophysiology of PPD differs from the pathophysiology of MD remains to be determined. Further investigations are needed to determine the chronological associations between the occurrence of symptoms of PPD and the onset of changes in MPFC Glu levels.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.