When:
Friday, March 1, 2019
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT
Where: Ward Building, 5-230, 303 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 map it
Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students
Contact:
Donna Daviston
(312) 503-1687
Group: Department of Neuroscience Seminars
Category: Lectures & Meetings
The department of Physiology welcomes Lisa Monteggia, Ph.D.
Clinical studies have demonstrated that a single subpsychotomimetic dose of ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, produces rapid antidepressant responses in patients with major depressive disorder. Data will be presented showing that ketamine mediated blockade of NMDA receptors at rest targets a specific signaling cascade that involves deactivation of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) kinase, resulting in reduced eEF2 phosphorylation and desuppression of rapid dendritic protein translation, including BDNF, which then contributes to synaptic plasticity mechanisms. These findings identify critical determinants of how blocking spontaneous neurotransmission impacts synaptic plasticity with implications for ketamine mediated antidepressant responses.