Depression: a case of neuronal life and death?
by
Duman RS.
Division of Molecular Psychiatry,
Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology,
Yale University School of Medicine,
New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Aug 1;56(3):140-5

ABSTRACT

Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that stress or depression can lead to atrophy and cell loss in limbic brain structures that are critically involved in depression, including the hippocampus. Studies in experimental animals demonstrate that decreased birth of new neurons in adult hippocampus could contribute to this atrophy. In contrast, antidepressant treatment increases neurogenesis in the hippocampus of adult animals and blocks the effects of stress. Moreover, blockade of hippocampal neurogenesis blocks the actions of antidepressants in behavioral models of depression, demonstrating a direct link between behavior and new cell birth. This perspective reviews the literature in support of the hypothesis that altered birth of new neurons in the adult brain contributes to the etiology and treatment of depression and considers research strategies to test this hypothesis.

Adult neurogenesis
Atypical depression
Retarded depression
Genes and mental illness
BDNF and new brain cells
Cannabinoids/neurogenesis
Basic fibroblast growth factor
Depression and antidepressants
Antidepressants and neuroplasticity
Antidepressants and new brain cells
A new theory of depression and antidepressants
A neurotrophic model for stress-related mood disorders

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