Neurogenesis in depression

All these data involved the hippocampus, a structure traditionally involved in learning and memory, and adult neurogenesis in depression and anxiety disorders (Thomas and Peterson, 2003). Antidepressant treatments may increase neural plasticity and adult neurogenesis, especially in the hippocampus. However, the neurogenic theory of depression remains the source of debate and controversy, and requires further study (Feldmann et al.,... 

More data and evidence are needed to confirm the involvement of adult neurogenesis in depression. 

Gass P, Henn FA (2009) Is there a role for neurogenesis in depression Biol Psychiatry 66 3-4... 

Sahay A, Hen R (2007) Adult hippocampal neurogenesis in depression. Nat Neurosci 10 1110-1115... 

Although acknowledging the relevance of monoamine neurotransmitters in depression, researchers begin to examine other mechanisms such as neurogenesis that may also play an important role in the development of the disease. 

Luca Santarelli, Rene Hen, and their colleagues use a mouse model of depression and find evidence of a role of neurogenesis in antidepressant activity. 

Another source of evidence supporting the neurotrophic hypothesis of depression comes from studies of the direct effects of BDNF on emotional regulation. Direct infusion of BDNF into the midbrain, hippocampus, and lateral ventricles of rodents has an antidepressant-like effect in animal models. Moreover, all known classes of antidepressants are associated with an increase in BDNF levels in animal models with chronic (but not acute) administration. This increase in BDNF levels is consistently associated with increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus in these animal models. Other interventions thought to be effective in the treatment of major depression, including electroconvulsive therapy, also appear to robustly stimulate BDNF levels and hippocampus neurogenesis in animal models. 

There are, however, controversies and debates over the involvement of the hippocampus and adult neurogenesis in the etiology of depression. Among them, i) a link between... 

Investigations into many anti-depressants currently on the market have also recently revealed a previously unknown effect on neurogenesis in an... 

Lin YL, Wang S. Prenatal lipopolysaccharide exposure increases depression-like behaviors and reduces hippocampal neurogenesis in adult rats. Behav Brain Res. 2014 259 24-34. 

Defects in neurogenesis are suspected to be involved in neuropsychiatric disorders. The case is particularly strong but also conversely discussed for major depression [33-40]. There is also evidence for a possible involvement of neurogenesis in anxiety [41-43] and schizophrenia [44-46]. 

The function of adult neurogenesis has been the source of intense research and debate. Evidence suggests that newly-generated neuronal cells are involved in learning and memory, and depression (Gould et al., 1999 Shors et al., 2001 Jacobs et al., 2000 Santarelli et al.,... 

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