Placental Transport and Metabolism: Implications for the Developmental Effects of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) Antidepressants

A host of neurodevelopmental processes are modulated by serotonin (5-HT), a molecule also implicated in the etiology of diverse psychiatric disorders. Prenatal exposures that affect serotonergic signaling and the developing 5-HT system are increasingly associated with multiple long-term repercussions for the offspring. Both maternal depression and antidepressant treatments have been shown to affect fetal neurodevelopment during pregnancy, possibly through alterations of 5-HT levels that are otherwise precisely set by placental and endogenous sources. The result of such dysregulation impacts a variety of critical signaling pathways, and eventually leads to long-term effects on postnatal brain function. This chapter provides investigators with details of recently developed methods that can be applied to the study of how maternal–fetal transfer of therapeutic drugs, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), cross the placenta and impact fetal brain circuit development.
Source: Springer protocols feed by Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news