Lisa's HMB300 Glog (Depression and the Lateral Habenula)
by
lisanham
Last updated 5 years ago
Discipline:
Science Subject:
Biology
The lateral habenula (LHb) has become a region of interest in the pathophysiology of depression, as it has consistently been found to be hyperactive in both depressed humans and animal models of depression.
Virus-induced over-expression of βCaMKII in the LHb of wild-type rodents produced symptoms of depression, including anhedonia and despair. Down-regulating βCaMKII or blocking its function reduced these symptoms.
A quantitative proteomic analysis revealed significant up-regulation of βCaMKII in the LHb of congenitally learned helpless rats, a well-accepted model of depression. In these rats, βCaMKII levels were almost two times greater than the wild-type control.
These findings, therefore, identify a key role for βCaMKII and the LHb in depression, and should provide new insights for the treatment of depression.
Over-expression of βCaMKII enhances synaptic activity and increases the spike output of LHb neurons—hyperactivity like that observed in depression. Knocking-down βCaMKII had the opposite effect.
lisanham 5 years ago
Citations:
Cellular mechanism for the excessive excitability in the lateral habenular neurons: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00826/full
Potential hyperactive synapses in human depression: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v17/n9/fig_tab/nn.3779_F3.html
CAMK2B: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Protein_CAMK2B_PDB_2ux0.png
Lateral Habenula in mice: http://www.ion.ac.cn/admin/ewebeditor/uploadfile/20130829132628707.jpg
Depression, the secrete we share (Andrew Solomon): http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share?language=en
Li K, Zhou T, Liao L, Yang Z, Wong C, Henn F, Malinow R, Yates JR 3rd, Hu H. βCaMKII in lateral habenula mediates core symptoms of depression. Science. 2013 Aug 30;341(6149):1016-20.