Nature Communications
September 1, 2026
Maxime Veleanu, Louise E. Schuberth, Antje Kilias et al.
The pathophysiology of depression involves multiple biological processes, including circuit dysfunction and impaired neuroplasticity, yet an integrative view linking these processes remains elusive. Here, we identify a convergent circuit for antidepressant response and plasticity modulation. We demonstrate that chemogenetic activation of the infralimbic cortex (IL) exerts rapid...
Der Nervenarzt
August 17, 2026
Stefan Vestring, Katharina Domschke, Claus Normann
Ketamine has been established as an anesthetic agent for decades. Around the turn of the millennium initial clinical studies demonstrated that subanesthetic doses of ketamine can exert antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression. These findings established the concept of an effective glutamatergic antidepressant treatment and initiated a paradigm shift. For many years, intravenous...
European Neuropsychopharmacology
July 17, 2026
Allan H. Young, Bernhard T Baune, Beatrice Benatti et al.
Esketamine nasal spray (NS) is an established treatment for patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD). To further optimise real-world outcomes, consensus is needed regarding strategies to enhance patient outcomes and decision-making factors for pivotal timepoints in esketamine NS treatment. This modified Delphi panel (3 rounds) established expert consensus (≥80% agreement) from 30...
Molecular Psychiatry
March 1, 2026
Wilf Gardner, David H. Sarrazin, Martin Balzinger et al.
Disruptions in sleep, circadian rhythms, and neural plasticity are closely linked to the pathophysiology and treatment of depression. Acute sleep deprivation (SD) produces rapid but transient antidepressant effects, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using a mouse model of stress-induced depression, we found altered sleep architecture, impaired sleep homeostasis, and...
Nature Communications
November 26, 2025
Stefan Vestring, Maxime Veleanu, Marina Conde Perez et al.
Ketamine is the first glutamatergic agent in clinical use for major depression, but its primary target remains unclear. Further research is needed to develop more specific interventions with fewer side effects. Ketamine is a noncompetitive antagonist of the glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Here, we show that ketamine preferentially targets GluN2D-containing NMDA receptors on...
Nature Communications
August 23, 2024
David H. Sarrazin, Wilf Gardner, Carole Marchese et al.
41 citations
Depression is associated with dysregulated circadian rhythms, but the role of intrinsic clocks in mood-controlling brain regions remains poorly understood. We found increased circadian negative loop and decreased positive clock regulators expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of a mouse model of depression, and a subsequent clock countermodulation by the rapid antidepressant...
Neuron
August 5, 2015
Tsvetan Serchov, H. Clement, M. Schwarz et al.
SUMMARY Major depressive disorder is among the most commonly diagnosed disabling mental diseases. Several non-pharmacological treatments of depression upregulate adenosine concentration and/or adenosine A1 receptors (A1R) in the brain. To test whether enhanced A1R signaling mediates antidepressant effects, we generated a transgenic mouse with enhanced doxycycline-regulated A1R expression,...