Thomas Rosanne M, Peterson Daniel A
Department of Neuroscience, The Chicago Medical School North Chicago, IL, USA.
Mol Interv. 2003 Dec;3(8):441-4. doi: 10.1124/mi.3.8.441.
The rate of adult neurogenesis fluctuates in response to several environmental factors. Chronic stress, which can lead to neuronal apoptosis and dendritic atrophy, certainly affects the overall rate of neurogenesis in the adult brain. Depression, which arises from several causes, including chronically stressful situations, is known to correlate with altered hippocampal morphology. But is the link between depression and neuronal regeneration merely coincidental? Recent studies indicate that ingestion of antidepressants leads to increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus. However, the hippocampus is generally thought important for learning and memory-not for "mood" state-thus, there is much more to the story that requires clarification. Also, caveats abound in the interpretation of neurogenesis in the amelioration of depression; nonetheless, these results are quite intriguing and might point to better design and prediction of new-generation antidepressants.
成体神经发生的速率会因多种环境因素而波动。慢性应激可导致神经元凋亡和树突萎缩，它必然会影响成体大脑中神经发生的总体速率。抑郁症由多种原因引起，包括长期处于压力环境，已知与海马体形态改变有关。但抑郁症与神经元再生之间的联系仅仅是巧合吗？最近的研究表明，摄入抗抑郁药会导致海马体中神经发生增加。然而，海马体通常被认为对学习和记忆很重要，而非对“情绪”状态重要，因此，还有更多情况需要阐明。此外，在解释神经发生对抑郁症改善作用时存在诸多注意事项；尽管如此，这些结果相当有趣，可能为新一代抗抑郁药的更好设计和预测指明方向。
