do new receptors grow?

[Samsara]

Note: do check out the sources that were utilized for this report.


http://www.naturalnews.com/029004_an..._patients.html

Millions of patients should never be prescribed antidepressants, scientists say
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer


(NaturalNews) Roughly half the population should never be prescribed antidepressant drugs because they are only likely to become more depressed, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute and published in the journal Neuron.

Scientists have known for some time that antidepressant drugs only work in about half of patients. Research has discovered that although the drugs are designed to raise circulating levels of the neurotransmitter chemical serotonin in the brain, they actually produce the opposite effect in large numbers of people.

"The more antidepressants try to increase serotonin production, the less serotonin [they] actually produce," researcher Rene Hen said.

An estimated 11 percent of U.S. women and 5 percent of men in non-institutionalized settings are currently taking antidepressants.

Genetic and brain imaging studies have led some scientists to believe that the explanation for this effect lies in the actual make up of the brain, specifically in the numbers of 1A serotonin receptors found in the raphe neurons deep in the brain's center. Although higher numbers of these receptors on raphe neurons are correlated with decreased responsiveness to antidepressants, scientists have had trouble testing the hypothesis directly.

In the new study, scientists genetically engineered mice to contain either high or low numbers of 1A receptors in their raphe neurons. They found that in mice with higher levels of receptors, antidepressants actually lowered serotonin levels rather than lowering them -- consistent with the effect seen in people whose bodies resist the drugs.

The researchers then lowered the number of receptors in these mice and re-tested them. The mice then became responsive to the drugs.

"By simply tweaking the number of receptors down, we were able to transform a non-responder into a responder," Hen said.

Rather than suggesting that antidepressant use be scaled back, however, Hen and colleagues expressed eagerness to find ways to suppress the activity of some of the 1A neurons in the raphe receptors of people who are resistant to the drugs, so that everyone can be treated with them equally.



Sources for this story include: www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthne... ; www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/....


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/029004_an...#ixzz1iK2elAeL

[Samsara]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12440573

Hippocampus. 2002;12(5):578-84.
Neurogenesis may relate to some but not all types of hippocampal-dependent learning.

Shors TJ, Townsend DA, Zhao M, Kozorovitskiy Y, Gould E.

Source
Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8020, USA.

[email protected]

Abstract

The hippocampal formation generates new neurons throughout adulthood. Recent studies indicate that these cells possess the morphology and physiological properties of more established neurons. However, the function of adult generated neurons is still a matter of debate. We previously demonstrated that certain forms of associative learning can enhance the survival of new neurons and a reduction in neurogenesis coincides with impaired learning of the hippocampal-dependent task of trace eyeblink conditioning.

Using the toxin methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) for proliferating cells, we tested whether reduction of neurogenesis affected learning and performance associated with different hippocampal dependent tasks: spatial navigation learning in a Morris water maze, fear responses to context and an explicit cue after training with a trace fear paradigm. We also examined exploratory behavior in an elevated plus maze. Rats were injected with MAM (7 mg/kg) or saline for 14 days, concurrent with BrdU, to label new neurons on days 10, 12, and 14. After treatment, groups of rats were tested in the various tasks.

A significant reduction in new neurons in the adult hippocampus was associated with impaired performance in some tasks, but not with others. Specifically, treatment with the antimitotic agent reduced the amount of fear acquired after exposure to a trace fear conditioning paradigm but did not affect contextual fear conditioning or spatial navigation learning in the Morris water maze. Nor did MAM treatment affect exploration in the elevated plus maze. These results combined with previous ones suggest that neurogenesis may be associated with the formation of some but not all types of hippocampal-dependent memories.

PMID:
12440573
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Samsara]

Please forgive me IF my above posts have veered a bit off topic. My head is spinning ATM (lol).

With that said, I do have many papers that support AD effects on neurogenesis and I can post a few however, would it not be redundant to do so since, we're in agreement that such studies do exist.

I'm trying to save my brain power (lol) and thus, posted a few papers that discuss the AD neurogenesis theory.

With that said, I have many extremely detailed papers regarding addiction, the intricacies of neurogenesis but they are very lengthy and very scientific in nature although extremely fascinating.

With that said, anyone can research this subject matter, in depth, if they are interested.


Samsara

[Samsara]

This is a very interesting paper but is quite lengthy. I have posted only a small portion so if anyone is interested in further exploring this topic do click on the link to read further.


http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/...n0399_203.html -

Nature Neuroscience 2, 203 - 205 (1999)
doi:10.1038/6300
New neurons in old brains: learning to survive?
William T. Greenough, Neal J. Cohen & Janice M. Juraska
The authors are at the Department of Psychology and the Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, 405 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
[email protected]



Two studies examine how experience regulates neurogenesis in the adult rodent hippocampus. Although their conclusions appear contradictory, they may in fact be reconcilable.



It has been known for many years that in rodents, neurons continue to be produced in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus throughout adult life1, 2. This finding generated considerable interest when it was first reported, not least because of its possible implications for brain repair. This initial excitement was tempered by the failure to detect neurogenesis in adult macaques3, but within the last two years the field has been revived by reports of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of marmosets4, macaques (M.Fallah, E.Fuchs, P.Tanapat, A.J.Reeves, E.Gould, Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 24, 796.9, 1998) and even humans5. Moreover, a recent study6 reported that the survival of newly formed neurons in mice can be increased by exposure to a more complex environment, suggesting that neuronal replacement in adults may be regulated by experience.

Two papers in this issue, by Gould et al. ( pages 260−265) and by van Praag et al. ( pages 266−270), add to this growing body of evidence, in particular by demonstrating that both proliferation and survival of newly formed neurons can be affected by experience. Both studies seek to identify the aspects of experience that are essential to produce these effects, using learning tasks that either require or do not require the hippocampus. Yet, although they both use similar techniques, the two studies arrive at seemingly incongruent conclusions.

Note: click on link to read further.

[Samsara]

I could post forever due to the volume of research that I have. (lol)


Stan, to get back to your original post..........I used to research like a mad woman, trying to understand this whole WD process and all the biological dynamics playing out etc.

Here's the thing, even IF I knew tomorrow, with certainty (and even if scientists knew with certainty the effects of AD and subsequent WD) it does little to speed my recovery as well as ensure mental and physical longevity since, so many other factors such as diet, environment, stress management, physical activity, social and psychological factors all play into the equation of neurogenesis.

So, I choose to assume that I will fully recover and plan a life that will support my recovery and assist the neurogenesis (now and in the future) as lovingly as I can.

There are no guarantees to anything in life. The best I can do is to increase my odds of recovery and one of those things is to NOT worry about permanent damage. The worry itself increases the production and circulation of damaging stress hormones.

So, I prefer to spend my time anticipating recovery, engaging in as many positive distractions as possible since, doing so forms and strengthens new pathways in my brain. Really, that's all we can do and all that we can control n'est pas?

No amount of worry will change the outcome. In fact, worry, fear and despair increase the odds of negative outcomes.

Here's to our Full Recovery!


Samsara

[Sheila]

<< for Samsara, an IAWP frog award for good thinking

<< for Stan, an IAWP frog award for being brave and persevering despite worries

[Samsara]

<< for Samsara, an IAWP frog award for good thinking

<< for Stan, an IAWP frog award for being brave and persevering despite worries

Wow, thanks Sheila.

this is the band that will be playing during the frog award ceremony.

Stan and I driving to the event to receive the coveted Frog Award.


Sheila...........getting all dolled up for her role as Presenter of Awards.

[stan]

Samsara, do not make me dream, i am suffering such a long time, i can no more be happy, i forget how it is...a vegetable since so long!

[Cindy]

Hey Stan,

I came across this the other day when I was googling books...the sample pages online talk about neurogenesis, and how new neurons form...maybe you can find it on a French site to read the sample pages. It is called Train your Brain to Get Happy by Aubele, Wenck and Reynolds. I know you are still in the throws of w/d, but this might be a positive read for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Train-Your-Bra...5724132&sr=1-2

[Samsara]

Samsara, do not make me dream, i am suffering such a long time, i can no more be happy, i forget how it is...a vegetable since so long!

Stan,

Cindy has brought forward an excellent recommendation. Honestly, Stan, it's very important to force ourselves to re-train our minds. It can be done and it must be done since, old pathways are deeply entrenched. Consequently, we need to develop new pathways within the brain by altering our thought processes and/or challenging old thought patterns.

There's scientific evidence that "neurons that fire together wire together. Nerons that fire apart, wire apart" So, we need to TEACH our neurons HOW to wire together in positive manner and in doing so we stop reenforcing the old negative patterns. The old patterns will eventually lose their grip on us but only if we consistently challenge them.

I will admit that it is a lot of work but the rewards are priceless. Even if you can jolt your mind into positive engagement for a few minutes at a time, muliple times a day, then you will have created a few quality moments in your day. I strongly believe that happiness is not something that happens to us, but rather, something we must create for ourselves.

Believe me, I completely understand how signifcantly WD affects our mind and emotions but we can't allow it to paralyze us. It's very important to not give into the belief that we will never be happy. I know it seems like forever since you have felt yourself but you will move out of this but you can help things along but refusing to believe that you are powerless over this.

The book that Cindy recommends or books similar in nature really are empowering and can signficantly change your life, for the rest of your life. Now is a really good time to start. You will never regret doing so, I promise you!


Samsara