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Science 18 April 2008:
Vol. 320. no. 5874, pp. 385 - 388
DOI: 10.1126/science.1150516
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Reports

The Antidepressant Fluoxetine Restores Plasticity in the Adult Visual Cortex

José Fernando Maya Vetencourt,1* Alessandro Sale,1 Alessandro Viegi,1 Laura Baroncelli,1 Roberto De Pasquale,1 Olivia F. O'Leary,3 Eero Castrén,3 Lamberto Maffei1,2

We investigated whether fluoxetine, a widely prescribed medication for treatment of depression, restores neuronal plasticity in the adult visual system of the rat. We found that chronic administration of fluoxetine reinstates ocular dominance plasticity in adulthood and promotes the recovery of visual functions in adult amblyopic animals, as tested electrophysiologically and behaviorally. These effects were accompanied by reduced intracortical inhibition and increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the visual cortex. Cortical administration of diazepam prevented the effects induced by fluoxetine, indicating that the reduction of intracortical inhibition promotes visual cortical plasticity in the adult. Our results suggest a potential clinical application for fluoxetine in amblyopia as well as new mechanisms for the therapeutic effects of antidepressants and for the pathophysiology of mood disorders.

1 Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri, I-56100 Pisa, Italy.
2 Institute of Neuroscience, Consiglio Nazionale delle Recerche, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56100 Pisa, Italy.
3 Neuroscience Centre, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jf.maya{at}in.cnr.it

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)