Project Summary

Grigori Enikolopov, Ph.D., (Independent Investigator 2006) of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, notes that neurogenesis or new neurons continuously generated in the adult brain can be increased with the use of antidepressant drugs. Importantly, this increase may be required for the behavioral effects of antidepressants (for instance, fluoxetine/Prozac). However, it is not known which class of cells within the neuronal differentiation cascade is targeted by the drugs. Dr. Enikolopov has developed a novel approach to identify and classify neuronal precursors and to obtain precise quantitation of changes induced by neurogenic agents. He used this approach to demonstrate that fluoxetine/Prozac affects division of an early progenitor cell class in the adult brain. He will use this approach to determine whether different antidepressant treatments affect the different classes of precursor cells in the adult brain. He will use different classes of antidepressant drugs (imipramine and reboxetine) and electroconvulsive shock and will define the stages of differentiation that are targeted by these drugs and treatments. These experiments may identify a common cellular target of various antidepressant treatments and may help to predict the mode of action of new antidepressant drugs and therapies.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS

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