This federal Project Grant award of $418,178 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), aims to provide mechanistic insights into the neurobiological mechanisms by which maternal sensitivity is compromised by postpartum depression.
Specifically, the University of Massachusetts (UMass), through its Office of Grant & Contract Administration, will use intersectional viral strategies and the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) animal model of depression to examine how neurons in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) that project to the infralimbic cortex (MPOAAIL) and ventral tegmental area (MPOAAVTA) contribute to maternal sensitivity. This 2-year project will leverage advanced neuroscience techniques like DREADDs and GCaMP6s to assess the functional necessity and sufficiency of these MPOA pathways for maternal behavior, with the goal of generating critical new knowledge on how the brain computes dynamic changes in offspring needs to produce sensitive maternal care. This research has important clinical implications for understanding and addressing postpartum depression's impact on maternal-infant bonding and child development.
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