Scientists from the University of California Davis found the reason why women may not respond to depression treatments the same as men.
The research was published in Biological Psychiatry and was conducted by Alexia Williams et al.
Although treatments for depression exist, sometimes these treatments don’t work for many who use them.
Furthermore, women experience higher rates of depression than men, yet the cause for this difference is unknown, making their illnesses—at times—more complicated to treat.
In the study, the team aimed to understand how a specific part of the brain, the nucleus accumbens, is affected during the depression.
The nucleus accumbens is important for motivation, response to rewarding experiences, and social interactions—all of which are affected by depression.
Previous analyses within the nucleus accumbens showed that different genes were turned on or off in women, but not in men diagnosed with depression.
These changes could have caused symptoms of depression, or alternatively, the experience of being depressed could have changed the brain.
To differentiate between these possibilities, the researchers studied mice that had experienced negative social interactions, which induce stronger depression-related behavior in females than males.
After identifying similar molecular changes in the brains of mice and humans, researchers chose one gene, regulator of g protein signaling-2, or Rgs2, to manipulate.
This gene controls the expression of a protein that regulates neurotransmitter receptors that are targeted by antidepressant medications such as Prozac and Zoloft.
When the researchers increased Rgs2 protein in the nucleus accumbens of the mice, they effectively reversed the effects of stress on these female mice.
These results highlight a molecular mechanism contributing to the lack of motivation often observed in depressed patients.
Reduced function of proteins like Rgs2 may contribute to symptoms that are difficult to treat in those struggling with mental illnesses.
The team says findings from basic science studies such as this one may guide the development of pharmacotherapies to effectively treat individuals suffering from depression.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about health problems that may double your depression risk, and common drugs for inflammation and depression may treat COVID-19.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about simple way to reduce depression relapse, and results showing these common exercises may protect against cognitive decline.
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