Breakthrough in Brain Circuitry Offers Hope for Stress and Depression Treatment

Researchers at UCSF have discovered a brain circuit involving the amygdala and hippocampus that predicts resilience to stress in mice. Disruption in this circuit impairs reward-seeking behavior, but stimulating it using chemogenetics restores resilience and normal behavior. This finding could lead to new non-invasive treatments for chronic stress and depression in humans, as researchers explore similar patterns in human brains.