Depression model leaves mice with molecular scar
2 March 2006
by Carina Lee
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The onset of the depression-like social withdrawal syndrome leaves mice with a molecular scar in its brain, which suggests a reason for the difficulty in treating depression, according to researchers of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Eric Nestler, who leads this study, explains “Our study provides insight into how chronic stress triggers changes in the brain that are much more long-lived than the effects of existing antidepressants.”Silencer molecules turned off a gene for an important protein in the brain’s hippocampus region. The hippocampus defined as the region deep in the forebrain that assists with learning, memory, and the regulation of emotions. When mice were exposed to this animal model of depression an activated compensatory mechanism, namely the antidepressant imipramine, was required to restore depression symptoms of which associated with the protein expression and the animal’s sociability. However, it was observed that the silencer molecules were not removed during this process, and remained as a “scar”, consequently providing future vulnerability to depression-like stress. |
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