This work couldn't have been done without the entire Maze lab and our collaborators! As someone who became a first time mom during this project, I have a personal appreciation for why a good postpartum support system matters.
Maze lab at #standupforscience NYC! cut gels not funding!! 🧬
Yes! H3 dopaminylation was altered in the maternal brain of mice and humans. In mice, this was disrupted by postpartum stress. Mimicking these changes in virgin females reproduced maternal brain adaptations, and blocking dopaminylation rescued the effects of postpartum stress.
Chronic postpartum stress disrupted these adaptations. We then found changes in hippocampal dopamine. The Maze lab previously discovered H3 dopaminylation, which uses dopamine as a histone mark. Could this be the epigenetic mechanism underlying such lasting effects?