Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Biological Chemistry

Exercising Depression

December 10, 2007 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 85, Issue 50

Exercise tends to lift depression, and researchers at Yale University think they have now learned how. Ronald S. Duman and colleagues used a microarray to identify genes that are regulated by exercise. They found that exercise upregulates a gene in a biochemical pathway that is also thought to be affected by antidepressants. The gene codes for the nerve growth factor VGF. The researchers showed that administering a synthetic form of VGF produces a robust antidepressant effect in mice and that mutation of VGF in mice produces the opposite effect (Nat. Med., DOI: 10.1038/nm1669). Last month, Janet Alder at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey and coworkers also reported that VGF has antidepressant effects in mice (J. Neurosci. 2007, 27, 12156). Duman notes that VGF is "a completely different factor" from endorphins, the body's natural painkillers that are associated with the exercise-induced, mood-elevating effect known as "runner's high."

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.