Microglia and Motherhood: Linking the Neuroimmune System to Plasticity of the Maternal Brain and Postpartum Depression

Seminar Title: Microglia and Motherhood: Linking the Neuroimmune System to Plasticity of the Maternal Brain and Postpartum Depression

Presenter: Dr. Benedetta Leuner, Associate Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience, The Ohio State University

Dr. Leuner’s laboratory is primarily interested in the maternal brain and behavior. More specifically, her team aims to identify the neurobiological mechanisms underlying changes in emotional, cognitive, parental and motivational functioning during motherhood. Her lab employs combinations of behavioral paradigms that tap into these functions along with neuroanatomical, neuroendocrinological, biochemical, neurochemical and pharmacological techniques to link neural changes to behavior during the normal postpartum state and using an animal model of postpartum depression.