Michele Solis | science writer

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depression

Dissecting depression’s circuitry

January 12, 2013January 30, 2013michelesolis

With its wide range of symptoms and variable severity, depression might seem hopelessly complicated. But a spate of recent studies published in Nature suggests that this complexity is resolvable at the brain circuit level.

Read this story at Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Family roots for mental illness

July 27, 2012September 6, 2012michelesolis

Despite clinical boundaries between autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, a new study in Archives of General Psychiatry suggests they have shared roots.

Read this story at Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Deep brain stimulation relieves depression without mania

January 31, 2012February 23, 2012michelesolis

Desperate times may call for desperate measures, and in the awful world of treatment-resistant depression, one such measure—inserting two electrodes deep into the brain and running electricity through them—appears safe and effective, according to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Ketamine as antidepressant

July 28, 2011August 1, 2011michelesolis

A single dose of ketamine can relieve depression in as little as two hours, but finding out how it works is less than straightforward, with recent studies pointing to diverse mechanisms.

Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Hyperactive clues to depression

March 8, 2011April 4, 2011michelesolis

A recent report in Nature links hyperactive synapses in the lateral habenula  to learned helplessness in rats — a model for human depression. What’s more, applying deep brain stimulation, a protocol that alleviates depression in humans, to the lateral habenula also reduced learned helplessness in rats.

Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Our seasonal brains?

March 1, 2011March 1, 2011michelesolis

Winter blues, spring fever—most of us take seasonal changes in mood for granted. A study in Journal of Neuroscience suggests that the seasons may tinker with levels of dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain involved in motivation, pleasure, movement and learning.

Read this article at Scientific American Mind.

A brain wrought without omega-3

February 2, 2011michelesolis

A diet deficient in omega-3 fatty acids interferes with normal brain function, according to a report in Nature Neuroscience. Mice chronically deprived of these essential lipids not only showed abnormal brain signaling, but were also prone to anxious and depression-like behaviors.

Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Odd coupling in depression

December 8, 2010December 22, 2010michelesolis

A physical interaction between two types of dopamine receptor appears enhanced in human depression, and interfering with this coupling has antidepressant-like effects in rats, according to a new report in Nature Medicine.

Read this article at Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Publications

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    • Autism Speaks
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