GABA and mood disorders: a brief review and hypothesis

Petty, Frederick

doi:10.1016/0165-0327(95)00025-i

Cited by 323 publications

(203 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

193

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The observations presented here, suggesting a deficit in GABAergic neurons in depression, are supported by recent clinical reports of reduced GABA levels in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid in mood disorder patients (Brambilla et al, 2003;Petty, 1995;Sanacora et al, 1999Sanacora et al, , 2004. A proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study in live patients shows a highly significant 52% reduction in GABA levels in the occipital cortex of 14 medication-free depressed subjects (Sanacora et al, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…No significant differences in the density of calbindin-immunoreactive (CB-IR) or parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PV-IR) GABAergic neurons were found between MDD and control groups in either cortical region. However, clinical evidence is emerging to suggest that MDD is associated with reduced levels of GABA in the plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and neocortex (Petty, 1995;Sanacora et al, 1999Sanacora et al, , 2000Sanacora et al, , 2004. A proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study revealed a large, 52% reduction in GABA levels in the occipital cortex of 14 medication-free depressed subjects as compared to 18 healthy control subjects (Sanacora et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

GABAergic Neurons Immunoreactive for Calcium Binding Proteins are Reduced in the Prefrontal Cortex in Major Depression

Rajkowska

O'Dwyer

Teleki

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

366

234

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Post-mortem morphometric studies report reductions in the average density and size of cortical neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (ORB) in major depressive disorder (MDD). The contribution of specific neuronal phenotypes to this general pathology in depression is still unclear. Post-mortem sections from the dlPFC and ORB regions of 14 subjects with MDD and 11 controls were immunostained to visualize calbindin-immunoreactive (CB-IR) and parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PV-IR) presumptive GABAergic neurons. A three-dimensional cell counting probe was used to assess the cell packing density and size of CB-IR neurons in layers II + IIIa and PV-IR neurons in layers III-VI. The density of CB-IR neurons was significantly reduced by 50% in depression in the dlPFC and there was a trend toward reduction in the ORB. The size of CB-IR somata was significantly decreased (18%) in depression in the dlPFC with a trend toward reduction in the ORB. In contrast, there was no difference in the density of PV-IR neurons between the depressed and control groups in the dlPFC. The size of PV-IR neuronal soma was unchanged in depressed compared to control subjects in either dlPFC or ORB. In depression, subpopulations of GABAergic neurons may be affected differently in dlPFC and ORB. A significant reduction in the density and size of GABAergic interneurons immunoreactive for calcium binding proteins was found predominantly in the dlPFC region. These cellular changes are consistent with recent neuroimaging studies revealing a reduction in the cortical levels of GABA in depression.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GABAergic Neurons Immunoreactive for Calcium Binding Proteins are Reduced in the Prefrontal Cortex in Major Depression

Rajkowska

O'Dwyer

Teleki

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

366

234

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Findings of decreased CSF and plasma GABA levels in patients with depression, and decreased plasma levels in patients with mania have been reported (Petty 1995). Valproic acid, ECT, and antidepressants interfere with gabaergic transmission, reducing plasma GABA, and treatment response may correlate with higher baseline plasma GABA levels (Petty).…”

Section: Neurochemical Findingsmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Lithium Ion: A Foundation for Psychopharmacological Specificity

Soares

Gershon

1998

Neuropsychopharmacology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…There is considerable preclinical and clinical evidence that depression is associated with reduced GABA function [26,47]. For example, plasma GABA levels have been reported to be low in patients with major depression [48,49,50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Normal [3H]flunitrazepam binding to GABAA receptors in the locus coeruleus in major depression and suicide

Zhu¹,

Karolewicz²,

Nail³

et al. 2006

Brain Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Major depression and suicide are associated with altered concentrations of specific noradrenergic proteins in the human locus coeruleus (LC). Based on experimental studies that can reproduce these LC abnormalities in laboratory animals, we hypothesized that noradrenergic pathobiology in depression is a result of over-activity of the LC. LC activity is under the control of both excitatory and inhibitory inputs. A major inhibitory input to the LC is GABAergic, arising from the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi. Numerous studies demonstrating low levels of GABA in the CSF and plasma of subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) raise the possibility that LC over-activity in depression may be secondary to reduced GABAergic input to the LC. Here, GABAergic input to the LC in depression was evaluated by studying the binding of [ 3 H]flunitrazepam to GABA A receptors at three anatomically-defined levels of the human postmortem LC. LC tissues were collected from subjects with MDD, subjects with depressive disorders including MDD that died as a result of suicide, and psychiatrically normal control subjects. A modest rostral-caudal gradient of GABA A receptor binding density was observed amongst all subjects. No significant differences in the amount of binding to GABA A receptors were observed between control subjects (n=21) and MDD subjects (n=9) or depressed suicide victims (n=17). These results demonstrate that GABA A receptor binding in the LC measured with [ 3 H]flunitrazepam is not altered in subjects with depressive illnesses.

show abstract

GABA and mood disorders: a brief review and hypothesis

Cited by 323 publications

References 43 publications

GABAergic Neurons Immunoreactive for Calcium Binding Proteins are Reduced in the Prefrontal Cortex in Major Depression

GABAergic Neurons Immunoreactive for Calcium Binding Proteins are Reduced in the Prefrontal Cortex in Major Depression

The Lithium Ion: A Foundation for Psychopharmacological Specificity

Normal [3H]flunitrazepam binding to GABAA receptors in the locus coeruleus in major depression and suicide

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About