Facilitating microglia M2 polarization alleviates p-Synephrine-induced depressive-like behaviours in CSDS mice via the 5-HT6R-FYN-ERK1/2 pathway.

In recent years, modulation of microglial phenotype transformation has emerged as a promising strategy for treating central nervous system disorders. Aurantii Fructus Immaturus (Zhishi), a traditional Chinese medicine with versatile applications, contains p-Synephrine (p-SYN) as its principal bioactive compound, recognized for its anti-inflammatory efficacy. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear.

Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Sinisan formula for the Treatment of adolescent Depression: prefrontal cortex to dorsal raphe nucleus.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Sinisan formula (SNSF), documented in the classic books Shanghan Lun, is known for its ability to regulate liver-qi and treat depression. However, its underlying mechanism, particularly its effects on dynamic real-time neuron activity and circuits remains to be fully elucidated.

Aim Of The Study: This study aimed to investigate the antidepressant effect of SNSF and its central nervous system mechanism on depression-like behaviors, focusing on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) to dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) neural circuit in a stress-induced adolescent animal model.

Sinisan alleviates depression-like behaviors by regulating mitochondrial function and synaptic plasticity in maternal separation rats.

Background: Sinisan (SNS) consists of four kinds of herbs, which is the core of antidepressant prescription widely used in traditional Chinese medicine clinic treatment for depression induced by early life stress. However, the role and precise mechanism of SNS antidepressant have not yet been elucidated.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the mechanism SNS on antidepressant of regulating mitochondrial function to improve hippocampal synaptic plasticity.

Electrophysiological Characteristics of Dorsal Raphe Nucleus in Tail Suspension Test.

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is a major source of serotonin in the central nervous system, which is closely related to depression-like behaviors and is modulated by local GABAergic interneurons. Although serotonin neurons are known to be activated by struggling behavior in tail suspension test (TST), the exact electrophysiological characteristics are still unclear. Here, we combined electrode recording and behavioral test to explore the mice neuron electrophysiology in DRN during TST and observed that gamma oscillation was related to despair-like behaviors whereas burst fraction was crucial for survival-like behaviors.