The peripartum period offers a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of how dramatic fluctuations in endogenous ovarian hormones affect the human brain and behavior. This notwithstanding, peripartum depression remains an underdiagnosed and undertreated disorder. Here, we review recent neuroimaging findings with respect to the neuroplastic changes in the maternal brain during pregnancy and the postpartum period. We seek to provide an overview of multimodal neuroimaging designs of current peripartum depression models of hormone withdrawal, changes in monoaminergic signaling, and maladaptive neuroplasticity, which likely lead to the development of a condition that puts the lives of mother and infant at risk. We discuss the need to effectively integrate the available information on psychosocial and neurobiological risk factors contributing to individual vulnerability. Finally, we propose a systematic approach to neuroimaging the peripartum brain that acknowledges important co-morbidities and variation in disease onset.

中文翻译：

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围产期人脑：当前的理解和未来的前景

围产期提供了一个独特的机会来提高我们对内源性卵巢激素的剧烈波动如何影响人类大脑和行为的理解。尽管如此，围产期抑郁症仍然是一种未被充分诊断和治疗的疾病。在这里，我们回顾了最近关于孕期和产后母体大脑神经可塑性变化的神经影像学发现。我们试图提供当前围产期抑郁症模型的多模式神经影像设计的概述，包括激素戒断、单胺能信号的变化和神经可塑性不良，这些可能导致危及母婴生命的疾病的发展。我们讨论了有效整合有关导致个体脆弱性的社会心理和神经生物学风险因素的可用信息的必要性。最后，我们提出了一种对围产期大脑进行神经成像的系统方法，该方法承认重要的合并症和疾病发作的变化。