Events

The lecture titled Stress and depression – what happens to neuronal communication in disorders will be delivered by Dr hab. Katarzyna Stachowicz (Department of Neurobiology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland).

Place: ACMiN (30 Kawiory Street, D-16 building, room 1.02A)

Abstract

Stress accompanies every person, but about 4% of people develop depression, which means that about 280 million people worldwide suffer from it. Intensive research is underway around the world to understand the molecular mechanism that initiates depression. There are many theories of depressive disorders, and one of them, the so-called neuroplastic theory, assumes both morphological and functional changes in neuronal communication in response to stress. In general, morphological neuroplasticity usually refers to neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, dendrite length and branching, and spine density. Neuroplasticity is crucial in the brain's adaptation to stress. In the seminar, I will talk about how we understand stress and depression and what modifications neuronal communication undergoes in depression, and how we try to translate this knowledge into understanding the mechanisms that initiate depression in order to design effective drugs.