The P300 and late positive potential in pregnancy prospectively predict increases in depressive and anxious symptoms in the early postpartum period.

Postnatal depression and anxiety disorders pose a major burden on maternal mental health. While psychosocial risk factors for perinatal depression and anxiety are well-researched, there is a dearth of research examining neural biomarkers of risk for postnatal increases in depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest two different event-related potentials, the P300 and the late positive potential (LPP), may predict the course of depressive and anxious symptoms in non-perinatal populations. In a sample of 221 perinatal women, the present study utilized an emotional interrupt task administered in pregnancy to examine whether antenatal P300 and LPP amplitudes may predict change in depressive and anxious symptoms from pregnancy to the early postpartum period. Zero-order correlations and linear regressions revealed that a reduced antenatal P300 to target stimuli and an enhanced LPP to positive infant images were uniquely associated with postnatal depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively, and that these ERPs were independent predictors beyond antenatal self-report measures of psychological symptoms. Furthermore, individuals with increased depressive symptoms in pregnancy exhibited a stronger negative association between antenatal P300 amplitude and postnatal depressive symptoms. The present findings underscore the possibility that the measurement of ERPs during pregnancy could serve as a screening tool for risk for perinatal depression and anxiety, and thereby assist with identifying at-risk individuals who might benefit from prevention efforts.

The rewards of motherhood: Neural response to reward in pregnancy prospectively predicts maternal bonding with the infant in the postpartum period.

Mother-to-infant attachment is critical to the health of mothers and offspring. While reward circuitry is implicated in maternal attachment, no studies have yet examined whether antenatal (i.e., in pregnancy) reward responsiveness predicts mother-to-infant bonding in the postnatal period. In a sample of 63 women, we examined whether the Reward Positivity (RewP), an event-related potential elicited to feedback indicating monetary reward, measured in pregnancy prospectively predicts self-reported mother-to-infant attachment at approximately one year postpartum. An increased antenatal RewP was associated with increased postnatal pleasure in proximity with the infant. Furthermore, this association was independent of associations with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. This is the first study to find a prospective association between reward responsiveness in pregnancy and postnatal bonding with the infant. Future directions for attachment research are discussed.