Beijing Institute of Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Research: Discovery of new mechanism for treating depression, possibly overturning traditional treatment methods.

The Beijing Institute of Brain Science and Class Brain Research announced today that depression is a major challenge faced by clinical psychiatry. On November 6th, the laboratory of Luo Minmin at the Beijing Institute of Brain Science and Class Brain Research published a study in the journal Nature titled "Adenosine Signaling Drives Antidepressant Actions of Ketamine and ECT." The study found that a signaling molecule in the brain called adenosine is a core pathway for the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and proposed an "intermittent hypoxia intervention plan" based on this to safely and controllably induce adenosine release in the brain, thereby achieving significant antidepressant effects. The study discovered and confirmed that the adenosine signaling pathway is a common key mechanism for the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine and ECT treatments. This discovery not only deepens our understanding of the mechanisms of rapid antidepressant effects, but also provides a solid theoretical basis and clear target for the development of a new generation of antidepressant strategies based on adenosine signaling regulation with fewer side effects.