Oxytocin alterations have been associated with the development of depression during the peripartum period (Skrundz et al., 2011; Stuebe et al., 2013) and previous research has associated the restoration of PVN oxytocin levels with the reversal of stress-induced depressive-like behaviors (Purba et al., 1996; Yamamoto et al., 2004; Meynen et al., 2007). This evidence concerns the gene OXT and major depressive disorder.