Here’s an excerpt from my April 13, 2011, post:
Let me end this quick look by mentioning that our Foundation made a grant to support research being conducted by Beth Troutman at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Beth’s research project is entitled Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Depression and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI). Beth’s study is fascinating in that she’s looking at a little recognized “damned if you do; damned if you don’t” situation that is increasingly popping up in the world of psycho-pharmacology. According to the model that Beth is testing, doctors are prescribing SSRI type antidepressants to mothers experiencing postpartum depression. The idea is fairly simply: it’s not a good idea for mothers to remain in a depressed state around their newborn infant. And apparently this type of psycho-pharmacological approach does work. But there’s a bug-a-boo (one that Beth is looking at experimentally): it may well turn out that SSRI type antidepressants could impede a mother’s ability to appropriately display emotion by facial expression. See the problem? The SSRI type antidepressants may allow the mother to feel better (which intuitively we should view as a good thing for the mother-infant relationship, nay, all relationships) … but … the mother’s (hypothetical) inability to appropriately display emotion by facial expression may open up the entrance to the uncanny valley (and along with it increased levels of repulsion). Beth’s research will take a first pass at seeing if this hypothesis is true and, if so, is there an optimum level of psycho-pharmacological intervention (using SSRIs) that allows for both relief from the symptoms of depression and the appropriate display of emotion by facial expression. Beth is truly looking for a “win-win” here. Once the results are available, we’ll post another update on this blog, so keep checking back.
In this update I just wanted to report that the results of Beth’s study have been submitted to the Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology. We’ll keep you updated as we receive more information on this grant.
