Depression in the time of COVID-19: Examination of prenatal and postpartum depression, rurality, and the impact of COVID-19.

Background: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms in rural versus urban populations.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 24,227 cisgender women who gave birth from 2010 to 2021 at an academic medical center located in a rural midwestern state. Exclusion criteria were <18 years old, incarcerated, or without a documented zip code.

Emergency department use in the postpartum period: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Visits to the emergency room (ED) by women in the postpartum period may reflect gaps in postpartum care and disparities in access to obstetric and primary care services. This study aimed to characterize the patients who visited the ED in the first year after delivery, their reasons for coming to the ED, and the care they received.

Methods: The electronic health record was reviewed for all patients who delivered at University of Iowa Health Care between 2009 and 2023 and visited the ED within 365 days after delivery.

Excess neonatal testosterone causes male-specific social and fear memory deficits in wild-type mice.

Neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) disproportionately affect males compared to females, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in particular exhibits a 4:1 male bias. The biological mechanisms of this female protection or male susceptibility have not been identified. There is some evidence to suggest that fetal/neonatal gonadal hormones, which play pivotal roles in many aspects of development, may contribute.

The γ-Protocadherins Interact Physically and Functionally with Neuroligin-2 to Negatively Regulate Inhibitory Synapse Density and Are Required for Normal Social Interaction.

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are key players in the formation of neural circuits during development. The γ-protocadherins (γ-Pcdhs), a family of 22 CAMs encoded by the Pcdhg gene cluster, are known to play important roles in dendrite arborization, axon targeting, and synapse development. We showed previously that multiple γ-Pcdhs interact physically with the autism-associated CAM neuroligin-1, and inhibit the latter's ability to promote excitatory synapse maturation.