Project Summary

Benjamin S. Bunney, M.D. (Distinguished Investigator 2000) of Yale University School of Medicine, is pursuing research on the role of the substantia nigra (SN) in depression.  This brain region has important connections to various limbic structures, and is markedly disrupted in Parkinson's disease patients, who have a high occurrence of depression.  Dr. Bunney will use sophisticated techniques to confirm that the SN, and an adjacent structure, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), project directly to the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex.  In addition, electrophysiological techniques will be used to study the effects of antidepressants on the SN and VTA cell populations.  This work may lead to further studies which will determine the effects of acute and chronic treatment with antidepressants on the release of neurotransmitters in the brain regions examined in this study.  Furthermore, these studies may lead to the design of new treatment approaches which are both safer and more effective than those currently used.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Depression (Unipolar)

Search Again