ArticlePsychopharmacology2022
Rapid antidepressant-like effects of muscarinic receptor antagonists require BDNF-dependent signaling in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fabrication and efficacy evaluation of scopolamine-loaded dissolving microneedle for rapid antidepressant therapy.International journal of pharmaceutics: X · 2026Article
- Microglia-Dependent BDNF Signaling in the Dentate Gyrus Underlies the Antidepressant Effects of Gardiquimod, a Toll-Like Receptor 7 Agonist, in Chronically Stressed Mice.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Baicalin Alleviates Chronic Restraint Stress-Induced Depression-like Behavior by Suppressing ROS/HAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- An Overview of Depression Pathogenesis: Prevailing Hypotheses and Associated Neurobiological Underpinnings Primarily Evidenced by Rodent Studies.Depression and anxiety · 2026Review
- Dry Eye Disease and Psychiatric Disorders: Neuroimmune Mechanisms and Therapeutic Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Chronic Stress-Associated Depressive Disorders: The Impact of HPA Axis Dysregulation and Neuroinflammation on the Hippocampus-A Mini Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Subchronic administration of scopolamine reverses UCMS-induced behavior in mice via eEF2 protein dephosphorylation.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2024Article
- Impaired Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray-Ventral Tegmental area Pathway Contributes to Chronic Pain-Induced Depression-Like Behavior in Mice.Molecular neurobiology · 2023Article
- BTRX-246040 Acts Through the Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray to Exert Antidepressant-Relevant Actions in Mice.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleClinical reports reveal that scopolamine, an acetylcholine muscarinic receptor antagonist, exerts rapid antidepressant effects in depressed patients, but the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects have not been fully identified.
objectivesThe present study examines the cellular mechanisms by which scopolamine produces antidepressant-like effects through its action in the ventrolateral midbrain periaqueductal gray (vlPAG).
methodsWe used a well-established mouse model of depression induced by chronic restraint stress (CRS) exposure for 14 days. Behaviors were tested using the forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), female urine sniffing test (FUST), novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT), and locomotor activity (LMA). Synaptic transmission in the vlPAG was measured by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. IntravlPAG microinjection was used to pharmacologically verify the signaling cascades of scopolamine in the vlPAG.
resultsThe results demonstrated that intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine produced antidepressant-like effects in a dose-dependent manner without affecting locomotor activity. CRS elicited depression-like behaviors, whereas intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine alleviated CRS-induced depression-like behaviors. CRS diminished glutamatergic transmission in the vlPAG, while scopolamine reversed the above effects. Moreover, intravlPAG microinjection of the L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel (VDCC) blocker verapamil, tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) receptor antagonist ANA-12, mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitor rapamycin, and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPA) antagonist CNQX prevented scopolamine-induced antidepressant-like effects.
conclusionsScopolamine ameliorated CRS-elicited depression-like behavior required activation of VDCC, resulting in activity-dependent release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), engaging the TrkB receptor and downstream mTORC1 signaling in the vlPAG.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.