Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27270172›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical investigation2016

GABA interneurons mediate the rapid antidepressant-like effects of scopolamine.

Eric S Wohleb, Min Wu, Danielle M Gerhard, Seth R Taylor, Marina R Picciotto, Meenakshi Alreja, Ronald S Duman

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of clinical investigation, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 84 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
84citing papers in PubMed
9.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

84 citing papers in PubMed, 144 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Prefrontal contribution to passive coping behaviour in chronic stress and treatment by fast-acting antidepressant.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Negative allosteric modulation of α5-GABAbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Effects of ketamine on GABAergic and glutamatergic activity in the mPFC: biphasic recruitment of GABA function in antidepressant-like responses.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Article
  11. Medial prefrontal cortex acetylcholine signaling mediates the ability to learn an active avoidance response following learned helplessness training.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Acetylcholine muscarinic M1 receptors in the rodent prefrontal cortex modulate cognitive abilities to establish social hierarchy.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Growth Hormone Action in Somatostatin Neurons Regulates Anxiety and Fear Memory.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Eric S Wohleb
Min Wu
Danielle M Gerhard
Seth R Taylor
Marina R Picciotto
Meenakshi Alreja
Ronald S Duman
Yale University · US

Funding

Yale Clinical and Translational Science Award (U Component)UL1TR001863 · NCATS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI John H. Krystal, LUCILA OHNO-MACHADO · 2016 to 2026
$102.9M
Cholinergic Contribution to Circuits Underlying DepressionR01MH077681 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI MINEUR, YANN SEBASTIEN, PICCIOTTO, MARINA R · 2006 to 2025
$7.0M
INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDT32GM007324 · NIGMS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI BENNETT, ANTON M · 1987 to 2022
$6.2M
Role of mTOR and Synaptogenesis in the Actions of Rapid-Acting AntidepressantsR01MH093897 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI DILEONE, RALPH J · 2011 to 2021
$5.0M
Antidepressants: Signal Transduction and Gene ExpressionR37MH045481 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI DUMAN, RONALD S. · 2005 to 2014
$3.5M
Synaptic mechanisms underlying the rapid antidepressant actions of scopolamineR01MH105910 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI PICCIOTTO, MARINA R · 2014 to 2018
$2.2M
ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN BRAINR01MH045481 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI DUMAN, RONALD S. · 1995 to 2004
$1.3M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001863NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM007324NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH045481NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH077681NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH093897NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH105910NIMH NIH HHS R37 MH045481
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a recurring psychiatric illness that causes substantial health and socioeconomic burdens. Clinical reports have revealed that scopolamine, a nonselective muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, produces rapid antidepressant effects in individuals with MDD. Preclinical models suggest that these rapid antidepressant effects can be recapitulated with blockade of M1-type muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M1-AChR); however, the cellular mechanisms underlying activity-dependent synaptic and behavioral responses to scopolamine have not been determined. Here, we demonstrate that the antidepressant-like effects of scopolamine are mediated by GABA interneurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Both GABAergic (GAD67+) interneurons and glutamatergic (CaMKII+) interneurons in the mPFC expressed M1-AChR. In mice, viral-mediated knockdown of M1-AChR specifically in GABAergic neurons, but not glutamatergic neurons, in the mPFC attenuated the antidepressant-like effects of scopolamine. Immunohistology and electrophysiology showed that somatostatin (SST) interneurons in the mPFC express M1-AChR at higher levels than parvalbumin interneurons. Moreover, knockdown of M1-AChR in SST interneurons in the mPFC demonstrated that M1-AChR expression in these neurons is required for the rapid antidepressant-like effects of scopolamine. These data indicate that SST interneurons in the mPFC are a promising pharmacological target for developing rapid-acting antidepressant therapies.

Indexed as

AnimalsAntidepressive AgentsAnxietyBehavior, AnimalElectrophysiologyFemaleGABAergic NeuronsHumansInterneuronsMajor Depressive DisorderMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, TransgenicPrefrontal CortexScopolamineAntidepressive AgentsScopolamine

Identifiers

PMID27270172
PMCPMC4922686
OpenAlexW2415443438

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.