In search of better antidepressants
A new study from researchers at MIT and Stanford University pinpoints brain cells that appear to be critically involved in depression, offering a possible target for new, more effective antidepressants.By stimulating these cells to deliver dopamine to other parts of the brain, the researchers were able to immediately eliminate symptoms of depression in mice. They also induced depression in normal mice by shutting off the dopamine source.The findings could help researchers develop antidepressants that are more precisely targeted, says Kay Tye, an assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and one of the lead authors of a paper on the work appearing in the Dec. 12 online edition of Nature.“The first step to achieving a new era of therapy is identifying targets like these,” says Tye, who is a member of MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. “The fact that this target exists, I really hope it...