title: Brain, networks, depression, and more.
abstract: Depression is a heterogeneous disorder with a highly variable course. Individual responses to treatment are inconsistent, and an established mechanism remains elusive. The classical hypothesis of depression posits that mood disorders are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that can be corrected with antidepressant drugs. However, recent evidence indicates that information-processing dysfunction within neural networks might underlie depression, and antidepressant drugs induce plastic changes in neuronal connectivity that gradually lead to improvements in neuronal information processing and recovery. This review presents the major current approaches to understanding the biological mechanisms of major depression, with a focus on complex brain networks.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychiatric Research, Department of Psychiatry, Erasme Academic Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles-U.L.B., Brussels, Belgium. samuel.leistedt@erasme.ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: Samuël J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Leistedt
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Linkowski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009434:Neural Pathways; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents