Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
7335
pubmed:dateCreated
2011-2-25
pubmed:abstractText
The cellular basis of depressive disorders is poorly understood. Recent studies in monkeys indicate that neurons in the lateral habenula (LHb), a nucleus that mediates communication between forebrain and midbrain structures, can increase their activity when an animal fails to receive an expected positive reward or receives a stimulus that predicts aversive conditions (that is, disappointment or anticipation of a negative outcome). LHb neurons project to, and modulate, dopamine-rich regions, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA), that control reward-seeking behaviour and participate in depressive disorders. Here we show that in two learned helplessness models of depression, excitatory synapses onto LHb neurons projecting to the VTA are potentiated. Synaptic potentiation correlates with an animal's helplessness behaviour and is due to an enhanced presynaptic release probability. Depleting transmitter release by repeated electrical stimulation of LHb afferents, using a protocol that can be effective for patients who are depressed, markedly suppresses synaptic drive onto VTA-projecting LHb neurons in brain slices and can significantly reduce learned helplessness behaviour in rats. Our results indicate that increased presynaptic action onto LHb neurons contributes to the rodent learned helplessness model of depression.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
1476-4687
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
24
pubmed:volume
470
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
535-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2011-5-5
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Avoidance Learning, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Deep Brain Stimulation, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Depression, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Disease Models, Animal, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Dopamine, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Electric Stimulation, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Helplessness, Learned, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Male, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Models, Neurological, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Neuroanatomical Tract-Tracing Techniques, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Neurons, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Presynaptic Terminals, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Rats, Sprague-Dawley, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Reward, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Synapses, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Synaptic Transmission, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Thalamus, pubmed-meshheading:21350486-Ventral Tegmental Area
pubmed:year
2011
pubmed:articleTitle
Synaptic potentiation onto habenula neurons in the learned helplessness model of depression.
pubmed:affiliation
Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Department of Neuroscience, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. bli@cshl.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural