Oxytocin effects on the cognition of women with postpartum depression: A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Background: One of the most common mental disorders in the perinatal period is postpartum depression (PPD), which is associated with impaired emotional functioning due to alterations in different cognitive aspects including thought and facial emotion recognition (FER). Emotional impairments may affect the interaction and care offered to infants and their later development and therefore interventions with potential to minimize impairments associated with PPD are opportune. Oxytocin (OXT) was shown to have therapeutic properties associated with the promotion of affiliative and pro-social behaviors in different mental disorders. Few studies have assessed its therapeutic potential in PPD.

Objectives: To assess the effects of the acute administration of intranasal OXT (24 IU) on FER of baby faces and negative thoughts after delivery in mothers with and without PPD.

Methods: We conducted a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a crossover design involving mothers with PPD (N = 20) and without PPD (N = 35) in the puerperium. Participants completed a static task of FER of baby faces and a questionnaire of post-natal negative thoughts.

Results: Mothers with PPD had increased scores of negative thoughts about motherhood/infants, but no impairments in FER, when compared to healthy mothers. OXT had no effects on the rates of correct judgments or response times in the FER task, but was associated with response biases to facial happiness and the reduction of negative thoughts in mothers with PPD.

Discussion/conclusion: OXT may have positive effects on maternal affiliative behavior, maternal care, and mother-infant interactions as suggested by changes found in different cognitive aspects, thus minimizing the deleterious effects of PPD on child development.

Keywords: Facial emotion recognition; Negative thoughts; Oxytocin; Postpartum depression.