Exploring how serotonin causes depression

The project

We know the brain circuits that carry serotonin – a chemical that helps send messages between different parts of the brain – play a big part in causing and treating depression. But we don’t know exactly how – and this lack of knowledge is holding us back. 

So Dr Ian Maze and his team are considering whether serotonin alters the way the brain works through an ‘epigenetic’ process – essentially causing cells to switch different genes in the brain on and off. 

They’re looking at: 

• How serotonin affects the way that genes in certain brain cells work and use information
• Whether this process is different in people who have depression
• Whether serotonin switching genes on and off is involved in depression
• How anti-depressants affect what’s happening, so we can build our knowledge of exactly how they work.

The potential

Ian’s investigation has the potential to be a genuine game-changer. If we answer the long-standing question of exactly how serotonin influences depression, we move closer to developing new, more targeted treatments with fewer side effects and more consistent results.