The antidepressant fluoxetine restores plasticity in the adult visual cortex.
We investigated whether fluoxetine, a widely prescribed medication for treatment of depression, restores neuronal plasticity in the adult visual system of the rat. We found that chronic administration of fluoxetine reinstates ocular dominance plasticity in adulthood and promotes the recovery of visual functions in adult amblyopic animals, as tested electrophysiologically and behaviorally. These effects were accompanied by reduced intracortical inhibition and increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the visual cortex. Cortical administration of diazepam prevented the effects induced by fluoxetine, indicating that the reduction of intracortical inhibition promotes visual cortical plasticity in the adult. Our results suggest a potential clinical application for fluoxetine in amblyopia as well as new mechanisms for the therapeutic effects of antidepressants and for the pathophysiology of mood disorders.
Maya Vetencourt
José Fernando
JF
Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri, I-56100 Pisa, Italy. jf.maya@in.cnr.it
Sale
Alessandro
A
Viegi
Alessandro
A
Baroncelli
Laura
L
De Pasquale
Roberto
R
O'Leary
Olivia F
OF
Castrén
Eero
E
Maffei
Lamberto
L
D000550:Amblyopia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000494:pharmacology; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology; D023882:Dominance, Ocular / Q000187:drug effects; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation; D036881:Long-Term Synaptic Depression; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D003975:Diazepam; D005473:Fluoxetine; D012701:Serotonin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid