Norepinephrine and Serotonin Depletion in Vascular Depression

Principal Investigator - Ranga Krishnan, M.D.

This project is a direct complement to project 5. We have established both the tryptophan depletion paradigm and AMPT depletion paradigm.  The depletion paradigm will test the hypothesis that catecholamine and serotonin depletion can precipitate depression in subjects with vascular changes. If the hypothesis is valid it provides support for one component of the circuit. The project is innovative in that it directly tests the importance of NE and serotonin in inducing depression in a known high risk population with defined damage to the circuits of relevance. The study has the potential to elucidate critical interactions, many of which have remained assumptions shaping many of our current theories of depression.

Revised: March 17, 2008

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You have entered a web site that describes an NIMH-funded collaborative study on the neurobiological mechanism of depression. If you are seeking immediate help for treatment of depression, we recommend that you contact your clinician or your nearest emergency room. This web site is not set up to provide help or advice to individuals about their depression, nor to family members or friends of individuals with depression. This web site is created for the purposes of providing background information about the study and having researchers provide input to the design. If you are interested in getting general information about depression, you can visit the following web site: www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depressionmenu.cfm