The Bidirectional Relationship Between Neurogenesis and Depression

Abstract

The intersection between neurogenesis and depression have recently become a popular topic in the neuroscience community. Current research suggests that there is a bi-directional relationship between the two. Depression is proven to decrease the volume of the hippocampus, and research suggests that this is because of slowed neurogenesis. During depression, gene expression that regulates neurogenesis is disrupted as the brain activates an inflammatory-immune response. Furthermore, studies suggest that decreased neurogenesis can cause depression, and investigations into antidepressants have found that they often upregulate neurogenesis or downregulate the immune response in the brain. The fields of neuroscience and psychology have focused on these two relationships. It is so far unknown which side of the relationship is more dominant, but current research is valuable to designing further treatment for depression.