Abstract
Studies at the basic and clinical levels demonstrate that neuronal atrophy and cell
death occur in response to stress and in the brains of depressed patients. Although
the mechanisms have yet to be fully elucidated, progress has been made in characterizing
the signal transduction cascades that control neuronal atrophy and programmed cell
death and that may be involved in the action of antidepressant treatment. These pathways
include the cyclic adenosine monophosphate and neurotrophic factor signal transduction
cascades. It is notable that these same pathways have been demonstrated to play a
pivotal role in cellular models of neural plasticity. This overlap of plasticity and
cell survival pathways, together with studies demonstrating that neuronal activity
enhances cell survival, suggests that neuronal atrophy and death could result from
a disruption of the mechanisms underlying neural plasticity. The role of these pathways
and failure of neuronal plasticity in stress-related mood disorders are discussed.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 9,
2000
Received in revised form:
May 5,
2000
Received:
March 15,
2000
Identification
Copyright
© 2000 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
