Coordinator: Eric J. Nestler

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA

Faculties:

Catherine Herteaux, CNRS, Nice, France

Maurizio Popoli, University of Milan, Italy

Jay Gingrich, Columbia University, New York, USA

Robert Malenka, Stanford University, USA

Pen Svenningsson, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Isabelle Mansuy, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland

René Hen, Columbia University New York, USA

Depression remains one of the most prevalent and consequential disorders worldwide, yet available treatments are fully effective in fewer than half of all depressed patients. Moreover, all medications used today are based on serendipitous discoveries made 6 decades ago. These considerations emphasize the importance of new approaches in depression research.

The course will highlight on recent progress made in identifying novel mechanisms of depression and antidepressant action based on studies in animal models. Each day's session will focus on a distinct area of research which is defining new potential targets for antidepressant drug discovery. Dr. Catherine Heurteaux (CNRS, FR) will describe recent research from her laboratory, which has demonstrated a novel role of particular K+ channel subunits in striatum and other brain regions in mediating antidepressant-like responses. Dr. Maurizio Popoli (Milan, IT) will cover recent research on glutamatergic mechanisms in depression, in particular, the targeting of specific glutamate receptor subunits in efforts to develop antidepressants of novel mechanisms. Dr. Jay Gingrich (Columbia, USA) will review work that has defined the role played by several different serotonin receptors, and serotonin circuits in the brain, in mediating antidepressant action. Dr. Per Svenningsson (Karolinska, SE) will present evidence that the protein p11, through modifying the activity of several G protein-coupled receptors, is an important mediator of depression and antidepressant responses. Dr. Robert Malenka (Stanford, USA) will discuss increasing evidence for the involvement of different forms of synaptic plasticity in mediating stress effects on the brain and the reversal of such effects by antidepressants. Dr. Eric Nestler (Mount Sinai, USA) will present the increasing evidence for the role of chromatin remodeling in depression, including the influence of histone modifications and histone modifying enzymes in depression- and antidepressant-related phenomena. Dr. Isabelle Mansuy (Zurich, SW) will describe recent evidence that certain effects of stress can be passed on to offspring through epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation. Finally, Dr. Rene Hen will provide an update on the role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the regulation of mood and cognition and its possible involvement in depression and antidepressant action.

Together, these presentations, each presented by recognized leaders in the field from acclaimed universities in the U.S. and Europe, will offer attendees a uniquely broad overview of cutting edge research in depression, including efforts to develop treatments with novel mechanisms of action. The presentations will cover efforts across a range of mechanisms, from ion channels and synaptic plasticity to G protein-coupled receptor signaling to epigenetics to neurogenesis. Work across this spectrum is expected to reveal a great deal about what causes depression as well as drive efforts to develop more effective treatments.