Oxytocin and Dyadic Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Post Partum Depression
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
1969-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Rationale and Hypotheses of the Current Research: the investigators speculate that mothers
suffering from PPD exhibit high levels of depression and low levels of OXT, hence
experiencing the interaction with their child as less rewarding, which in turn promote
further depressive symptoms and interfere with child development. While dyadic psychotherapy
has been studied in this context, it is unknown which depressed women will respond to this
type of therapy, and whether such a response is mediated by the pro-bonding effect of
oxytocin.
The aim of this study is three-fold:
1. To study the effect of the administration of a single dose (24IU) of oxytocin on
cerebral circuit processing and connectivity of empathy and attachment.
2. To examine whether the clinical response of mothers suffering from postpartum depression
to short term dyadic psychotherapy (based on improved mother-child interactions) can be
predicted by a unique brain response pattern to oxytocin.
3. To assess the relationship between levels of oxytocin in mother and baby and the
effectiveness of psychological dyadic treatment on mothers suffering from postpartum
depression.