Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Antidepressive Therapy: Shocking Relations

Neural Plasticity, 2014 · DOI: 10.1155/2014/723915 · Published: May 22, 2014

Regenerative Medicine Mental Health Neurology

Simple Explanation

The review discusses the connection between hippocampal neurogenesis and the effects of antidepressive treatments like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). It explores whether neurogenesis contributes to the effectiveness of these therapies. The paper revisits findings on how electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and the neurogenic response are related. It looks at the interactions between neurogenesis, blood vessel formation, microglia activation, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the secretion of neurotrophic factors after ECT. The review also examines the response to electroconvulsive shocks in both young and aged mice, considering that neurogenesis declines with aging. This helps understand how age affects the effectiveness of ECT.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

C57Bl/6 mice of two and twenty months of age

Evidence Level

Review Article

Key Findings

1
Experimental ECS enhances neurogenesis in various species. A close relationship exists between hippocampal function and mood regulation.
2
Experimental ECS can shift quiescent neural progenitors to a proliferative status, increasing the pool of active stem cells. New neurons generated do not differ in fate or phenotype compared to those generated under physiological conditions.
3
Experimental ECS modulates microglial activation state, promoting neurogenesis, and potentially contributing to the antidepressive effect. Experimental ECS increases GFAP expression significantly.

Research Summary

The review explores the link between hippocampal neurogenesis and the action of antidepressant therapies, particularly ECT. While speculations about this connection have existed for over a decade, conclusive evidence remains elusive. The paper revisits the impact of experimental ECS on neurogenesis and speculates on the mechanisms leading to its upregulation. It also scrutinizes the influence of aging on the impact of ECT/experimental ECS and neurogenesis in more detail. The review discusses how experimental ECS and antidepressant drugs affect cells in neurogenic niches, finding both treatments increase cell proliferation in the hippocampus and promote neuronal progenitor maturation. It also addresses normalization of the HPA-axis and release of signaling factors.

Practical Implications

Therapeutic Potential

Understanding the mechanisms by which ECT and other therapies stimulate neurogenesis could lead to new and improved treatments for depression.

Personalized Medicine

Monitoring neurogenesis levels could become a surrogate marker to predict and monitor patients' response to treatment.

Geriatric Psychiatry

Addressing the age-dependent response to ECT is crucial for optimizing treatment strategies in elderly individuals with depression.

Study Limitations

1
Most studies addressing experimental ECS working mechanisms have been performed in healthy animals and only occasionally in animal models based on chronic stress.
2
Adequate protocols for in vivo measurement of human neurogenesis are not existent yet.
3
The validity of volumetric measurements as a biomarker for the monitoring of depression remains to be established

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