Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, University Medicine Berlin, Chariteplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Behav Brain Res. 2010 Nov 12;213(1):73-81. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.04.036. Epub 2010 Apr 29.
Major depression (MD) has been projected to be the first leading cause of disability worldwide. Still, the pathophysiological processes and factors leading to depression remain largely unknown. The present study investigated the differential effects of selective medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) lesions on depression-like and depression-associated behavior in rats, using the following behavioral paradigms: (i) learned helplessness model testing depressive behavior, (ii) elevated plus-maze testing anxious behavior, (iii) 8-arm radial maze testing cognitive performance and (iv) the open-field testing locomotion. Lesion of both, the mPFC or the STN selectively increased depression-like behavior in rats. These effects were not biased by any effects on depression-associated behavior, such as increased anxiety, cognitive impairment or deficits in locomotion. The behavioral data presented in this study support a specific involvement of the mPFC in the pathophysiology of MD and point towards a potent regulatory function of the STN in processing limbic information towards cortical and subcortical regions in the brain pathophysiologically relevant in the manifestation of MD.
重度抑郁症（MD）预计将成为全球首要致残原因。然而，导致抑郁症的病理生理过程和因素在很大程度上仍不清楚。本研究通过以下行为范式，研究选择性内侧前额叶皮层（mPFC）和底丘脑核（STN）损伤对大鼠抑郁样和与抑郁相关行为的差异影响：（i）习得性无助模型测试抑郁行为，（ii）高架十字迷宫测试焦虑行为，（iii）8 臂放射迷宫测试认知表现，（iv）旷场测试运动。mPFC 或 STN 的损伤选择性地增加了大鼠的抑郁样行为。这些影响不受任何与抑郁相关行为（如焦虑增加、认知障碍或运动障碍）的影响。本研究中的行为数据支持 mPFC 在 MD 病理生理学中的特定参与，并指向 STN 在处理边缘信息方面的强大调节功能，这些信息与 MD 表现中大脑的皮质和皮质下区域的病理生理学相关。
