February 2005

News Tips from the Journal of Neuroscience

1. Antidepressants, BDNF, and the Dentate Gyrus

Mikko Sairanen, Guilherme Lucas,
Patrik Ernfors, Maija Castrén, and Eero Castrén

Why does it take weeks for the clinical effects of antidepressants to develop? It has not escaped notice that this time course is similar to the antidepressant-induced enhancement of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor trkB. In this week's Journal, Sairanen et al. assess BDNF- and trkB- mediated signaling in mice chronically injected with antidepressants.

2. Crossing Bridges to Spinal Cord Regeneration

Karim Fouad, Lisa Schnell, Mary B. Bunge, Martin E. Schwab, Thomas Liebscher, and Damien D. Pearse

Unfortunately, there seem to be plenty of obstacles to neuron regeneration after spinal cord injury. This week, Fouad et al. adopt a multifaceted approach to optimize regeneration in adult rats after spinal cord transection.