| Research Summary |
Major clinical depression is one of the world''s leading causes of suffering and
disability. While numerous drugs have been developed to treat this disorder, they have a number of drawbacks including lengthy time to act, failure to act in all patients and side effects which impair the quality of life. We are conducting basic research on depression using animal models in order to better understand the neurobiology underlying it.
We have discovered that normal behavioral activity depends to a large extent upon a brain neurotransmitter system known as the alpha 1 adrenergic. In this system catecholamines neurotransmitters are released from brain neurons onto alpha 1-adrenergic receptors located on postsynaptic neurons. When this system is active there is normal behavioral function but when blocked animals show prolonged periods of inactivity possibly due to low motivation. We have found that this brain system
becomes desensitized by stress, a chief cause of depression, and that several antidepressant agents appear to act to reverse this desensitization. We are currently perfecting new methods to manipulate this system in small brain regions so as work out its central "wiring circuit." By studying the biochemical and physiological workings of the alpha 1 behavioral system, our work is aimed at aiding the development of newer, more effective and more precise therapies to control depressive illness.
|
| Research Information |
Research Interests | Behavioral activation, depression, adrenergic, noradrenergic system, alpha 1-adrenoceptors
| Research Keywords | depression, motor activity, alpha 1-adrenoceptor, adrenergic, noradrenergic system
|
