Changes in brain reward systems during pregnancy and after childbirth
Official title: Trajectories of Positive Valence Systems Function and Postpartum Depression Risk
Funded at Vanderbilt University · NIH-11243511 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tracks how the brain's reward and mood systems change during pregnancy and after birth to better understand who may develop postpartum depression.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | November 13, 2023 |
| Project end | October 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $728,417 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH131950-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11243511 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant people (typically recruited in the second trimester) who are willing to attend multiple in-person MRI visits, complete frequent mood surveys, and provide saliva samples through the postpartum period.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not pregnant, cannot undergo MRI (for example due to metal implants or severe claustrophobia), or need immediate urgent psychiatric care may not receive direct benefit from participating.
What this research studies
You would be followed from pregnancy into the months after childbirth with repeated brain scans that measure how your brain responds to rewards and social cues. You would also complete short mood surveys on your phone several times a day and provide saliva samples to measure stress hormones like cortisol. The team will also measure negative-emotion responses to compare patterns. By combining brain imaging, real-time mood reports, and biological stress measures across multiple time points, they aim to map trajectories linked to postpartum depressive symptoms.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify early warning signs of postpartum depression so clinicians can offer preventive support at the right time.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show low reward-system activation predicts depression outside pregnancy, but repeatedly measuring reward-related brain function across pregnancy is largely untested and relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kujawa, Autumn J — Vanderbilt University
- Study coordinator: Kujawa, Autumn J
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.