Targeting vasopressin neurons alleviates postpartum depression

Researchers at Nanjing University’s School of Life Sciences, in collaboration with colleagues from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the Peng Cheng Laboratory, have identified a specific brain circuit that eases depressive-like behaviors in a mouse model of postpartum depression, providing a promising target for future treatments. This work addresses how sudden drops in estrogen after childbirth can trigger mood disturbances.