What is the significance of this research? We always assumed that antidepressants worked by affecting neurotransmitters, the chemicals that pass nerve signals between neurons; but this did not explain why they often take several weeks to work. This research provides a possible explanation. This is the first research to demonstrate that antidepressant-induced growth of new nerve cells produces positive behavior changes.
“This is an important new insight into how antidepressants work,”according to NIMH director Thomas Insel, M.D. “We have known that antidepressants influence the birth of neurons in the hippocampus. Now it appears that this effect may be important for the clinical response.”
Lead researcher Rene Hen, Ph.D., of Columbia University,is reported by NIMH to comment that "If antidepressants work by stimulating the production of new neurons, there’s a built-in delay. Stem cells must divide, differentiate, migrate and establish connections with post-synaptic targets – a process that takes a few weeks. Our results suggest that strategies aimed at stimulating hippocampal neurogenesis could provide novel avenues for the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders."
Source: ASHER, j. Creation of New Neurons Critical to Antidepressant Action in Mice National Institute of Mental Health, August 7, 2003
