Glutamate and GABA systems as targets for novel
antidepressant and mood-stabilizing treatments

by
Krystal JH, Sanacora G, Blumberg H, Anand A, Charney DS,
Marek G, Epperson CN, Goddard A, Mason GF.
Department of Psychiatry,
Yale University School of Medicine,
New Haven, CT, USA.
john.krystal@yale.edu 21228, USA.
Mol Psychiatry 2002;7 Suppl 1:S71-80


ABSTRACT

Glutamate and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) systems are emerging as targets for development of medications for mood disorders. There is increasing preclinical and clinical evidence that antidepressant drugs directly or indirectly reduce N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor function. Drugs that reduce glutamatergic activity or glutamate receptor-related signal transduction may also have antimanic effects. Recent studies employing magnetic resonance spectroscopy also suggest that unipolar, but not bipolar, depression is associated with reductions in cortical GABA levels. Antidepressant and mood-stabilizing treatments also appear to raise cortical GABA levels and to ameliorate GABA deficits in patients with mood disorders. The preponderance of available evidence suggests that glutamatergic and GABAergic modulation may be an important property of available antidepressant and mood-stabilizing agents. Future research will be needed to develop and evaluate new agents with specific glutamate and GABA receptor targets in the treatment of mood disorders.
PCP
Ketamine
Glutamate
Phencyclidine
NMDA antagonists
Why is cannabis fun?
The taste of happiness
Schizoaffective disorder
Schizophrenia: new drugs
Schizophrenia: neuroleptics
Glutamate and mood disorders
Serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia
Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia
Adenosine and the nucleus accumbens
Pain, motivation, pleasure and the rostral shell
Depression, dopamine and dextroamphetamine
Mesolimbic medium spiny neurons and pleasure
The nucleus accumbens: opioids versus cannabinoids

Refs
and further reading

HOME
HedWeb
Nootropics
cocaine.wiki
Future Opioids
BLTC Research
MDMA/Ecstasy
Superhapiness?
Utopian Surgery?
The Abolitionist Project
The Hedonistic Imperative
The Reproductive Revolution
Critique of Huxley's Brave New World

The Good Drug Guide
The Good Drug Guide

The Responsible Parent's Guide
To Healthy Mood Boosters For All The Family