Recent evidence shows that ghrelin plays an important role in depression. However, it was little known whether ghrelin produces antidepressant-like effect in the ovariectomized mice. The present study was aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effects of the ghrelin in ovariectomized mice. In the forced swim test, ghrelin significantly decreased immobility time, reversing the "depressive-...

OBJECTIVE We sought to demonstrate whether the specific activation of serotonin1B (5-HT1B) heteroreceptors by systemic or local administration of the selective 5-HT1B receptor agonist anpirtoline could mediate antidepressant-like effects in mice. METHODS We confirmed the selectivity of action of anpirtoline in the forced swim test (FST) in 5-HT1B knockout mice. We then evaluated the behaviour...

The antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effects of magnesium, an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor inhibitor, were studied in mice using the forced swim test and elevated plus-maze test, respectively. The doses of 20 and 30 mg Mg/kg, reduced immobility time in the forced swim test exerting antidepressant-like activity. In the elevated plus-maze test, magnesium at the same doses pro...

Zinc and magnesium are potent inhibitors of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex. Recent data demonstrate that both zinc and magnesium, like other NMDA receptor antagonists, exhibit antidepressant-like activity in rodent screening tests and depression models. In the present study, we investigated the effect of D-serine (agonist for the glycine(B) site of the NMDA receptor complex; 1...

The trefoil factors (TFFs) are a family of three polypeptides, among which TFF1 and TFF3 are widely distributed in the central nervous system. Our previous study indicated that TFF3 was a potential rapid-onset antidepressant as it reversed the depressive-like behaviors induced by acute or chronic mild stress. In order to further identify the antidepressant-like effect of TFF3, we applied an olf...

Behavioral studies show that modulation of the glutamatergic system might be an efficient way to achieve antidepressant activity. Among the group III metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors, the mGlu7 receptor subtype seems to be the most promising target for potential antidepressants. It has been shown that a selective, allosteric mGlu7 receptor agonist, N,N'-bis (diphenylmethyl)-1,2-ethanedia...

Background N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists, like ketamine, produce a rapid-acting and long-lasting antidepressant effect. Although the mechanism is not completely understood, ketamine is thought to preferentially target N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors on fast-spiking parvalbumin-containing interneurons. The function of parvalbumin-containing interneurons is dependent on perineuronal ne...

Regular exercise has an antidepressant effect in human subjects. Studies using animals have suggested that the antidepressant effect of exercise is attributable to an increase of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT); however, the precise mechanism underlying the antidepressant action via exercise is unclear. In contrast, the effect of 5-HT on antidepressant activity has not been clarified, in part ...