The GABAergic deficit hypothesis of major depressive disorder

Abstract

Increasing evidence points to an association between major depressive disorders (MDDs) and diverse types of GABAergic deficits. Here we summarize clinical and preclinical evidence supporting a central and causal role of GABAergic deficits in the etiology of depressive disorders. Studies of depressed patients indicate that MDDs are accompanied by reduced brain concentration of the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as well as alterations in the subunit composition of the principal receptors (GABAA receptors) mediating GABAergic inhibition. In addition, there is abundant evidence that GABA plays a prominent role in the brain control of stress, the most important vulnerability factor in mood disorders. Furthermore, preclinical evidence suggests that currently used antidepressant drugs designed to alter monoaminergic transmission as well as non-pharmacologic therapies may ultimately act to counteract GABAergic deficits. In particular, GABAergic transmission plays an important role in the control of hippocampal neurogenesis and neural maturation, which are now established as cellular substrates of most if not all antidepressant therapies. Lastly, comparatively modest deficits in GABAergic transmission in GABAA-receptor-deficient mice are sufficient to cause behavioral, cognitive, neuroanatomical, and neuroendocrine phenotypes as well as antidepressant drug response characteristics expected of an animal model of MDD. The GABAergic hypothesis of MDD suggests that alterations in GABAergic transmission represent fundamentally important aspects of the etiological sequelae of major depressive disorders that are reversed by monoaminergic antidepressant drug action.