The postpartum period is commonly accompanied by emotional changes, which for many new mothers includes a reduction in anxiety. Previous research in rodents has shown that the postpartum attenuation in anxiety is dependent on offspring contact and has further implicated enhanced GABAergic neurotransmission as an underlying mechanism. However, the specific brain regions where GABA acts to regulate the offspring-induced reduction in postpartum anxiety requires further investigation. Here, we test the hypothesis that offspring interactions suppress anxiety-like behavior in postpartum female rats via GABA signaling in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Our results show a postpartum reduction in anxiety-like behavior, an effect which was abolished by localized infusion of the GABA_A receptor antagonist bicuculline in the mPFC. We also show that activation of GABA_A receptors in the mPFC by the agonist muscimol was effective in restoring anxiolyisis in mothers separated from their pups. Lastly, we show that heightened anxiety-like behavior in pup-separated mothers was accompanied by a lower number and percentage of activated GABAergic neurons within the mPFC. Together, these results suggest that mother-offspring interactions reduce anxiety-like behavior in postpartum females via GABA_A neurotransmission in the mPFC and in doing so provide insight into mechanisms that may become dysfunctional in mothers who experience high postpartum anxiety.

产后期通常伴随着情绪变化，对于许多新妈妈来说，这包括焦虑的减少。先前对啮齿类动物的研究表明，产后焦虑的减弱取决于后代的接触，并进一步表明 GABA 能神经传递的增强是一种潜在机制。然而，GABA 调节后代引起的产后焦虑减少的特定大脑区域需要进一步研究。在这里，我们测试了这样的假设：后代相互作用通过内侧前额叶皮层 (mPFC) 中的 GABA 信号传导抑制产后雌性大鼠的焦虑样行为。我们的结果显示，产后焦虑样行为有所减少，这种效应通过在 mPFC 中局部输注 GABA _A受体拮抗剂荷包牡丹碱而消除。我们还表明，激动剂蝇蕈醇激活 mPFC 中的 GABA _A受体可有效恢复与幼崽分离的母亲的抗焦虑能力。最后，我们发现，与幼崽分离的母亲的焦虑样行为加剧，伴随着 mPFC 内激活的 GABA 神经元数量和百分比的降低。总之，这些结果表明，母子互动通过 mPFC 中的 GABA _A神经传递减少了产后女性的焦虑样行为，并由此提供了对经历高度产后焦虑的母亲可能出现功能障碍的机制的深入了解。