The latest generation of antidepressants relieves symptoms by mimicking steroids produced by the brain to ensure neurons are effectively talking to each other. How these neurosteroids are linked to depression and why they work is still to be determined, but a study in mice, led by Tufts University School of Medicine scientists, found chronic stress reduced an animal's abilities to produce and respond to these important molecules, specifically allopregnanolone. The research was published Jan. 31 in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
"Our findings suggest that the behavioral deficits following chronic stress involve impaired neurosteroid synthesis and signaling," says lead author Najah Walton, a PhD student in neuroscience at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
