[Recent progress in mood disorder research].
When papers published in highly-prestigious journals in 2010 and 2011 were categorized, the number of papers on genestic studies was found to be the largest, followed by papers on brain imaging, postmortem brain studies, and animal model studies. Follow-up studies of the findings of initial genome-wide association analyses constitute a major part of genetic studies. Recent brain imaging studies were found to integrate previous findings that indicated altered responces of prefrontal cortex to cognitive stimuli and enhanced responces of amygdala to emotional faces. Reduced size of the hippocampus is reportedly not a result of stress but perhaps a vulnerability factor. Among animal model studies, molecular mechanisms underlying rapid anti-depressive effects of ketamine are drawing attention. The role of neurogenesis in fear memory and depression is complex, and a link between psychopathology and neuroscience may be needed to understand the roles of neurogenesis. Postmortem brain analyses are currently used to investigate several pathophysiological hypotheses related to the roles of monoamine, neuroplasticity, and neuroinflammation in depression, as well as the roles of GABAergic neurons and mitochondria in bipolar disorder. Several studies are integrating postmortem brain analysis and animal model studies. Genetic and neuroimaging studies of mood disorders have advanced, and neurobiological basis of the findings of these studies should be further elucidated in animal models and postmortem brains.
Laboratory for Molecular Dynamics of Mental Disorders, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Saitama, Japan.
Tadafumi
T
Kato
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019964:Mood Disorders