Esketamine ameliorates prenatal stress-induced postpartum depression and sex-related behavioral differences in adolescent progeny.
Neuropharmacology May 15, 2025 Yazhou Wen, Jin Zhou, Huiling Yu et al. 2 citations
Prenatal chronic restraint stress (CRS) in mice induced postpartum depression-like behaviors in mothers and sex-specific behavioral changes in their adolescent offspring: female offspring showed depression-like behaviors, while male offspring exhibited memory deficits. Esketamine, given to mothers on postpartum days 1-5, improved these maternal depression-like behaviors and also corrected the behavioral abnormalities in adolescent offspring. Additionally, prenatal CRS caused heightened secretion of ACTH and CORT in adolescent offspring during acute restraint stress, indicating hyperresponsiveness of the stress hormone system. Esketamine's effects on these hormone levels were not reported.