Project Summary

Tarique Perera, M.D. (Young Investigator 2004) of New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University, aims to study in a monkey model the effects of antidepressants on neurogenesis. Recent research shows antidepressants may work by the stimulation of neuron formation (neurogenesis) in the hippocampus. Hippocampal volume reduction and/or impairments consistent with hippocampal malfunction, such as memory defects and increased stress hormone levels, are seen in certain depressed patients. These alterations may result from suppressed hippocampal neurogenesis, which is seen in rodents exposed to factors associated with depression, such as social stress and drugs of abuse. Correspondingly, interventions that ameliorate depression, including all classes of antidepressants, mood-stabilizers, and environmental-enrichment, stimulate neurogenesis. Regardless of this evidence, the link between neurogenesis and antidepressants is circumstantial and has never been demonstrated in monkeys. Dr. Perera is seeking to develop a monkey model of behavioral disturbance that is sensitive to the therapeutic action of antidepressants and examine if this therapeutic effect is associated with increased neurogenesis. Dr. Perera will test whether the therapeutic effects of an antidepressant in a monkey can be abolished if neurogenesis is blocked by irradiating neuronal precursors.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Unipolar Depression

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