A Neurotrophic Model for Stress-Related Mood Disorders
by
Duman RS, Monteggia LM.
Division of Molecular Psychiatry (RSD),
Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology,
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Biol Psychiatry. 2006 Apr 19;

ABSTRACT

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that stress decreases the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in limbic structures that control mood and that antidepressant treatment reverses or blocks the effects of stress. Decreased levels of BDNF, as well as other neruotrophic factors, could contribute to the atrophy of certain limbic structures, including the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex that has been observed in depressed subjects. Conversely, the neurotrophic actions of antidepressants could reverse neuronal atrophy and cell loss and thereby contribute to the therapeutic actions of these treatments. This review provides a critical examination of the neurotrophic hypothesis of depression that has evolved from this work, including analysis of preclinical cellular (adult neurogenesis) and behavioral models of depression and antidepressant actions, as well as clinical neuroimaging and postmortem studies. Although there are some limitations, the results of these studies are consistent with the hypothesis that decreased expression of BDNF and possibly other growth factors contributes to depression and that upregulation of BDNF plays a role in the actions of antidepressant treatment.

Stress
Biogenic amines
New antidepresants
Noradrenaline and mood
Alpha2-receptor antagonism
The noradrenaline transporter
Cholinergic-adrenergic balance
Noradrenaline and dopamine co-release
The locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system
The catecholamine hypothesis of depression
Stress and dendritic arborization of the amygdala
Stress, dynorphin, dysphoria and the kappa opioid system

Refs
and further reading

HOME
HedWeb
Nootropics
cocaine.wiki
Future Opioids
BLTC Research
MDMA/Ecstasy
Superhapiness?
Utopian Surgery?
The Abolitionist Project
The Hedonistic Imperative
The Reproductive Revolution
Critique of Huxley's Brave New World

The Good Drug Guide
The Responsible Parent's Guide
To Healthy Mood Boosters For All The Family