Neurobiology Research of Depression

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2018) | Viewed by 3528

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University
Interests: Major depression, genetics, pharmacogenetics, antidepressants, neuroimmunomodulation, the interface between depression and obesity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

After years of frustration and slow progress in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in MDD; recently, different genetic approaches have significantly associated several genes to MDD and depressive symptoms in GWAS. In genetic research we have accepted the notion of depressive symptoms continuum. Does the neurobiology of this disorder also support this assumption, in which sub-threshold symptoms may have similar pathophysiological consequences? While much discussion in MDD genetic research has revolved around the heterogeneity of this disorder and the impact of ethnicity in studies, very little of those issues have reflected into its neurobiological basis research. Genetic data has also brought into light the shared genetic risk of MDD and other psychiatric disorders. Genetic consortiums have been very fruitful in several disease, as such with the increase of sample size and meta-analyses, more risk genes will be identified; thus, we should expect to have a larger inventory of MDD risk genes to account into a revamped MDD hypothesis. This special issue aims to review the wealth of recent research findings and to guide the field into a way forward in major depressive disorder (MDD) research by discussing and integrating the recent bonanza of genetic findings into our current understanding of its neurobiology.

Prof. Ma-Li Wong
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • MDD
  • GWAS
  • Ethiopathological hypothesis
  • Antidepressant therapy

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 777 KiB  
Article
Facial Sadness Recognition is Modulated by Estrogen Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in Healthy Females
by Mayra Gutiérrez-Muñoz, Martha E. Fajardo-Araujo, Erika G. González-Pérez, Victor E. Aguirre-Arzola and Silvia Solís-Ortiz
Brain Sci. 2018, 8(12), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci8120219 - 07 Dec 2018
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3223
Abstract
Polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor ESR1 and ESR2 genes have been linked with cognitive deficits and affective disorders. The effects of these genetic variants on emotional processing in females with low estrogen levels are not well known. The aim was to explore the [...] Read more.
Polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor ESR1 and ESR2 genes have been linked with cognitive deficits and affective disorders. The effects of these genetic variants on emotional processing in females with low estrogen levels are not well known. The aim was to explore the impact of the ESR1 and ESR2 genes on the responses to the facial emotion recognition task in females. Postmenopausal healthy female volunteers were genotyped for the polymorphisms Xbal and PvuII of ESR1 and the polymorphism rs1256030 of ESR2. The effect of these polymorphisms on the response to the facial emotion recognition of the emotions happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, and fear was analyzed. Females carrying the P allele of the PvuII polymorphism or the X allele of the Xbal polymorphism of ESR1 easily recognized facial expressions of sadness that were more difficult for the women carrying the p allele or the x allele. They displayed higher accuracy, fast response time, more correct responses, and fewer omissions to complete the task, with a large effect size. Women carrying the ESR2 C allele of ESR2 showed a faster response time for recognizing facial expressions of anger. These findings link ESR1 and ESR2 polymorphisms in facial emotion recognition of negative emotions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurobiology Research of Depression)
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