Laser-induced alignment is used to transiently fix a molecule in space long enough to study its dynamics in the molecular frame, elucidating ultrafast chemical processes. Here we use laser alignment to transiently fix CS 2 molecules in space long enough to elucidate, in the molecular reference frame, details of ultrafast electronicvibrational dynamics during a photochemical reaction. These three-dimensional 1 Random orientation of molecules within

Current antidepressants are clinically effective only after several weeks of administration. Here, we show that serotonin(4) (5-HT(4)) agonists reduce immobility in the forced swimming test, displaying an antidepressant potential. Moreover, a 3 day regimen with such compounds modifies rat brain parameters considered to be key markers of antidepressant action, but that are observed only after 2-3 week treatments with classical molecules: desensitization of 5-HT(1A) autoreceptors, increased tonus on hippocampal postsynaptic 5-HT(1A) receptors, and enhanced phosphorylation of the CREB protein and neurogenesis in the hippocampus. In contrast, a 3 day treatment with the SSRI citalopram remains devoid of any effect on these parameters. Finally, a 3 day regimen with the 5-HT(4) agonist RS 67333 was sufficient to reduce both the hyperlocomotion induced by olfactory bulbectomy and the diminution of sucrose intake consecutive to a chronic mild stress. These findings point out 5-HT(4) receptor agonists as a putative class of antidepressants with a rapid onset of action.

From clinical studies it is known that recurrent depressive episodes associate with a reduced hippocampal volume. Conversely, preclinical studies have shown that chronic antidepressant treatment increases hippocampal neurogenesis. Consequently, it has been suggested that a deficit in hippocampal neurogenesis is implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. To study a potential correlation between recovery and hippocampal cytogenesis, we established the chronic mild stress (CMS) rat model of depression. When rats are subjected to CMS, several depressive symptoms develop, including the major symptom anhedonia. Rats were exposed to stress for 2 weeks and subsequently to stress in combination with antidepressant treatment for 4 consecutive weeks. The behavioral deficit measured in anhedonic animals is a reduced intake of a sucrose solution. Prior to perfusion animals were injected with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), a marker of proliferating cells. Brains were sectioned horizontally and newborn cells positive for BrdU were counted in the dentate gyrus and tracked in a dorsoventral direction.CMS significantly decreased sucrose consumption and cytogenesis in the ventral part of the hippocampal formation. During exposure to the antidepressant escitalopram, given as intraperitoneally dosages of either 5 or 10 mg/kg/ day, animals distributed in a bimodal fashion into a group, which recovered (increase in sucrose consumption), and a subgroup, which refracted treatment (no increase in sucrose consumption). Chronic treatment with escitalopram reversed the CMS-induced decrease in cytogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the ventral hippocampal formation, but in recovered animals only. Our data show a correlation between recovery from anhedonia, as measured by cessation of behavioral deficits in the CMS model, and an increase in cytogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the ventral hippocampal formation.

Chemical reactions are manifestations of the dynamics of molecular valence electrons and their couplings to atomic motions. Emerging methods in attosecond science can probe purely electronic dynamics in atomic and molecular systems [1][2][3][4][5][6] . By contrast, time-resolved structural-dynamics methods such as electron 7-10 or X-ray diffraction 11 and X-ray absorption 12 yield complementary information about the atomic motions. Time-resolved methods that are directly sensitive to both valence-electron dynamics and atomic motions include photoelectron spectroscopy 13-15 and high-harmonic generation 16,17 : in both cases, this sensitivity derives from the ionization-matrix element 18,19 . Here we demonstrate a time-resolved molecularframe photoelectron-angular-distribution (TRMFPAD) method for imaging the purely valence-electron dynamics during a chemical reaction. Specifically, the TRMFPADs measured during the non-adiabatic photodissociation of carbon disulphide demonstrate how the purely electronic rearrangements of the valence electrons can be projected from inherently coupled electronic-vibrational dynamics. Combined with ongoing efforts in molecular frame alignment 20 and orientation 21,22 , TRMFPADs offer the promise of directly imaging valenceelectron dynamics during molecular processes without involving the use of strong, highly perturbing laser fields 23 . Figure 1 provides a conceptual overview of our method. Carbon disulphide, CS 2 , is a molecule that exhibits all the features generic to polyatomic dynamics: vibrational mode coupling, conical intersections, spin conversion and photodissociation. As such, its non-adiabatic photodissociation reaction CS 2 (X ) Fig. 1, provides an excellent test. In this work we combine experimental measurements with theory to demonstrate how the TRMFPAD images the evolution of the valence-electronic structure of an excited-state wavepacket during the complex, coupled electronnuclear processes inherent to chemical reactions. TRMFPADs probe both nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom through the photoionization matrix elements, d(t ) = + ; e |μ ·E| i (t ) . These matrix elements describe how the initial wavepacket, and its subsequent evolution in time ( i (t )), is projected onto the ionization continuum, consisting of the cation ( + ) and photoelectron ( e ) states, through dipole coupling (μ) with the laser field (E; refs 18,24). In the case of polyatomic molecules, i (t ) and + are composed of coupled electronic and vibrational components (see Supplementary Information). The significance of the TRMFPAD can be understood by considering the intimate relationship between e and the electronic part of i (t ). For example, under the well-known Born (plane-wave) approximation, 1 Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada, 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark, 3 Department of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. *e-mail: alb...

We present a summary of recent advances in the understanding of the UV photophysics of the isolated DNA base adenine, emphasizing a discussion of the mechanisms behind the ultrafast relaxation following excitation to the pipi* band. Drawing on our femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy experiments, we discuss differences in the ultrafast relaxation of adenine and 9-methyladenine and consider the relative merits of the various proposed mechanisms.

We show experimentally that field-free alignment of iodobenzene molecules, induced by a single, intense, linearly polarized 1.4-ps-long laser pulse, can be strongly enhanced by dividing the pulse into two optimally synchronized pulses of the same duration. For a given total energy of the two-pulse sequence the degree of alignment is maximized with an intensity ratio of 1:3 and by sending the second pulse near the time where the alignment created by the first pulse peaks.

Using the molecular strong-field approximation we consider the effects of molecular symmetry on the ionization of molecules by a strong, linearly polarized laser pulse. Electron angular distributions and total ionization yields are calculated as a function of the relative orientation between the molecule and the laser polarization. Our studies focus on ethylene (C2H4), benzene (C6H6), fluorobenzene (C6H5F), and ortho chlorofluorobenzene (1,2 C6H4ClF), the molecules representing four different point groups. The results are compared with experiments, when available, and with the molecular tunneling theory appropriately extended to non-linear polyatomic molecules. Our investigations show that the orientational dependence of ionization yields is primarily determined by the nodal surface structure of the molecular orbitals.

One-dimensional alignment of molecules in the adiabatic limit, where the pulse duration greatly exceeds the molecular rotational periods, is studied experimentally. Four different asymmetric top molecules (iodobenzene, p-diiodobenzene, 3,4-dibromothiophene, and 4,4'-dibromobiphenyl), rotationally cooled through a high pressure supersonic pulsed valve, are aligned by a 9-ns-long pulse. Their orientations are measured through Coulomb explosion, induced by a 130-fs-long pulse, and by recording the direction of the recoiling ions. The paper focuses on the crucial role of the initial rotational temperature for the degree of alignment. In particular, we show that at molecular temperatures in the 1 K range very strong alignment is obtained already at intensities of a few times 10(11) W/cm2 for all four molecules. At the highest intensities (approximately 10(12) W/cm2) the molecules can tolerate without ionizing >or=0.92 in the case of iodobenzene. This is the strongest degree of alignment ever reported for any molecule.