New Insight into the Neurobiology of Depression

“Unraveling the pathophysiology of depression represents a unique challenge. In addition to the heterogeneity of depressive syndromes and their diverse etiologies, symptoms like guilt and suicidality are impossible to recapitulate in animal models. Nevertheless, other symptoms can be accurately modeled, which, along with growing clinical data, are beginning to provide new insight into the neurobiology of depression. Recent studies, which combine behavioral, molecular, and electrophysiological techniques, reveal that certain aspects of depression result from maladaptive stress-induced changes in reward circuits of the brain. We are currently investigating the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying these changes, including a role for chromatin remodeling. This work has highlighted that understanding mechanisms of resilience to stress offers an important new dimension for the development of fundamentally novel antidepressant treatments.”