Escitalopram in the acute treatment of depressed patients aged 60 years or older.

Objective: The present study examined the efficacy and tolerability of acute escitalopram treatment in depressed patients aged 60 years or older.

Methods: Patients aged > or =60 years with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition major depressive disorder were randomized to 12 weeks of double-blind, flexible-dose treatment with escitalopram (10-20 mg/day; N = 130) or placebo (N = 134). The prospectively defined primary efficacy end point was change from baseline to week 12 in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score using the last observation carried forward approach.

Double-blind comparison of escitalopram and duloxetine in the acute treatment of major depressive disorder.

Background And Objective: Escitalopram is the most selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant; in contrast, duloxetine inhibits both serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake. Double-blind comparison studies may help guide treatment decisions by revealing the relative benefits of different therapeutic approaches. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of escitalopram versus duloxetine in the acute treatment of patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder.

Escitalopram maintenance treatment for prevention of recurrent depression: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Major depressive disorder is a recurrent illness that often requires maintenance antidepressant treatment. Escitalopram is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that has shown efficacy in both acute and continuation treatment of major depressive disorder. The current trial examined the efficacy of maintenance escitalopram treatment in preventing depression recurrence in patients who responded to acute SSRI therapy.

Individual differences in the expression of a "general" learning ability in mice.

Human performance on diverse tests of intellect are impacted by a "general" regulatory factor that accounts for up to 50% of the variance between individuals on intelligence tests. Neurobiological determinants of general cognitive abilities are essentially unknown, owing in part to the paucity of animal research wherein neurobiological analyses are possible. We report a methodology with which we have assessed individual differences in the general learning abilities of laboratory mice.

Calcium 'leak' through somatic L-type channels has multiple deleterious effects on regulated transmitter release from an invertebrate hair cell.

Using an identified synapse in the nervous system of the mollusc Hermissenda, the influence of somatic calcium accumulation on regulated synaptic transmission was investigated. Hair cells in Hermissenda project onto postsynaptic B photoreceptors where they mediate inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs). Intracellular recordings in combination with bath perfusion of calcium channel modulators indicated that L-type channels were present on the hair cell soma but not on the terminal branches.

Hippocampal function during behaviorally silent associative learning: dissociation of memory storage and expression.

In laboratory studies, the assessment of memory is typically associated with overt behavioral responses. Thus, it has been difficult to determine whether the enhancement of hippocampal sensory-evoked potentials that often accompany memory formation are the neurophysiological manifestation of a memory "trace" or are a secondary product of the behavioral expression of the memory. We addressed this issue by examining changes in evoked hippocampal field potentials during sensory preconditioning, a form of behaviorally silent relational learning that requires an intact hippocampus for execution.