Full access
Clinical & Research News
Published Online: 20 April 2012

Study Uncovers More Clues About Antidepressants’ Action

Joan Arehart-TreichelAuthors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatric News
Volume 47, Number 8
https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.47.8.psychnews_47_8_12-b
Track CitationsAdd to favorites

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor plays a role not only in depression, but also in the ability of antidepressants and exercise to reverse it.
There is little doubt that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—a neurotrophin that promotes neuronal maturation and synaptic plasticity—is also complicit in depression. Ample research has linked decreased levels of BDNF in the brain and blood with major depression (Psychiatric News, October 16, 2009).
Research also points to BDNF as a factor in the action of antidepressants. When mice were given antidepressants, they had increased BDNF levels in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus. The dentate gyrus is a tightly packed layer of small granulate cells that wrap around the end of the hippocampus.
And now scientists have found that antidepressants increased BDNF in another area of the hippocampus as well. It is the cornu ammonias (CA) 3 area.
The finding was reported February 8 in Neuropsychopharmacology. The study’s senior researcher was Enrico Tongiorgi, Ph.D., head of the Cellular and Molecular Neuroanatomy Lab at the University of Trieste in Italy.
Tongiorgi and his colleagues treated mice for two weeks with either the antidepressant fluoxetine or the antidepressant reboxetine and then assessed whether the treatments increased BDNF in the dendrites of CA3 neurons. They found that they did.
“Our results add one further piece of evidence to the neurotrophin hypothesis of antidepressant action in the hippocampus, which indicates the dentate gyrus–CA3 axis as a major biological substrate for an effective action of antidepressant treatments,” the scientists concluded. Their findings could also be used “to design more specific antidepressants” than those currently on the market, they suggested.
And since exercise is known to have an antidepressant effect, the scientists conducted an additional experiment in which they let mice exercise for 28 consecutive days. They examined the hippocampi of the mice and found that the exercise, like antidepressants, had increased BDNF in the dendrites of the CA3 neurons.
The research was funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research.
An abstract of “Physical Exercise and Antidepressants Enhance BDNF Targeting in Hippocampal CA3 Dendrites: Further Evidence of a Spatial Code for BDNF Splice Variants” is posted at www.nature.com/npp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/npp20125a.html.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric News
Psychiatric News
Volume 47 • Number 8 • April 20, 2012
Pages: 12b

History

Published online: 20 April 2012
Published in print: April 20, 2012

Authors

Details

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

View Options

View options

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share

×

As described within the American Psychiatric Association (APA)'s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences. Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.