NCT02191423

Oxytocin and Dyadic Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Post Partum Depression

The Effect of Oxytocin on Brain Attachment and Empathy Networks, and the Association Between the Brain Response and Treatment Outcome of Brief Dyadic Psychotherapy - in Women Suffering From Postpartum Depression

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 50 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center · Other Government
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years – 45 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

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.

Conditions

• Postpartum Depression

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Oxytocin	administered pre-fMRI assessment
DRUG	placebo	administered pre-fMRI assessment
BEHAVIORAL	Dyadic psychotherapy

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-01-01
• Primary completion: 2016-06-01
• First posted: 2014-07-16
• Last updated: 2014-07-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Israel