Roles of adult neurogenesis in mood and emotion

在这项研究中，我们的目的是澄清一个可能的因果关系之间的联系，神经干细胞和神经发生在成年人的大脑和情绪/情绪，并探讨一种可能性，以改变情绪或其他脑功能的修改的数量的神经干细胞。首先，我们证明了慢性应激会减少成年人大脑中神经干细胞的数量，并且这种减少可以通过抗抑郁药治疗来恢复。其次，我们发现，用于治疗双相情感障碍患者的情绪稳定药物增强了小鼠NSC的自我更新能力，并且这种药理作用是通过NSC中Notch信号传导的激活介导的。第三，我们开发了一种转基因小鼠系统，其中神经干细胞的数量可以通过施用强力霉素来操纵。本研究结果有助于了解现代情感性精神障碍的发病机制，并为神经精神疾病的治疗提供新的思路。

In this study, we aimed to clarify a possible causative link between NSCs and neurogenesis in the adult brain and mood/emotion and to explore a possibility to alter the mood or other brain functions by modification of the number of NSCs. First, we demonstrated that chronic stress decreases the number of NSCs in the adult brain and that this reduction can be restored by antidepressant treatment. Second, we found that mood stabilizing drugs, which are used to treat patients with bipolar disorder, enhance the self-renewal capability of mouse NSCs and that this pharmacological effects are mediated by the activation of Notch signaling in the NSC. Third, we developed a transgenic mouse system, in which numbers of NSCs can be manipulated by administration of doxycyclin. Our results could contribute to the understanding of pathogenesis of modd affective disorders and to the development of new therapeutic strategy for neuro-psychiatric diseases.