Ronald Duman

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Ronald S. Duman is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology Director, Division of Molecular Psychiatry and Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities at Yale University.[1].

[edit] Education

Duman received his Ph.D. in 1985 from the The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

[edit] Career

Ron Duman's research centers around the biological mechanisms behind antidepressants. In his landmark 1995 paper, he discovered that antidepressants increase the gene expression of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or (BDNF)[2] in the hippocampus. In a later paper he discovered that the downstream effect of BDNF is to increase neurogenesis or the formation of new neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus]]) [3].

The results of this work led him to formulate the hypothesis that depression is caused by a decrease in hippocampal neurogenesis caused by elevated cortisol levels.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Duman's Yale Faculty Website
  2. ^ First paper demonstrating the link between antidepressants and BDNF levels
  3. ^ Abstract of paper demonstrating that antidepressants increase neurogenesis
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