How Depression and Antidepressant Drugs Work: New Insight from Depressed Mice Helps Researchers Unit (IMAGE)
Caption
This drawing illustrates new research that reveals the effectiveness of ketamine in treating depression in a mouse model of the disease. The research, led by Bernhard Lüscher, professor of biology and of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University, brings together two hypotheses for the cause of depression. It reveals that mutations in the GABA-A receptor cause a temporary imbalance between GABA signaling (yellow) and glutamate signaling (blue) in the brain. Homeostatic down regulation of glutamate signaling rebalances the system at a lower level and can lead to depression. Treatment with ketamine restores both GABA and glutamate levels to normal.
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Penn State University
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