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Several lines of evidence support the role of hippocampal neurogenesis in the successful treatment of depression. Two recent translational studies add details to this story.
In a rat study, researchers used the antimitotic agent methylazoxymethanol (MAM) to chemically inhibit hippocampal neurogenesis and accompanying gliogenesis; the adult rats showed depression- and anxiety-like behaviors but no general-health effects. Other rats were exposed to intermittent chronic low stress (a depression model) for 6 weeks; some received fluoxetine or imipramine, alone or with MAM. Four weeks after the stress ended, partial recovery was seen in rats not receiving MAM or antidepressants and in rats receiving antidepressants, but not in rats receiving only…