Experimental and Molecular Psychiatry (W1)
LWL University Hospital
Medical Faculty
44780 Bochum, Germany
Phone: +49 234 32 28035
Mail: nadja.freund@rub.de
Website: www.freundlab.com

 

Aim:  Investigating the role of prefrontal dopamine D1 receptors in depressive- and mania-like behavior

An involvement of the dopaminergic system in affective disorders has long been postulated. Studies in patients indicate a role of the D1 dopamine receptor (D1R) with impaired D1R function in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Preclinical studies confirm this role. Systemic injection of a D1R agonist does not only induce anti-depressant-like effects (Desormeaux et al., 2020), depressive-like behavior in an animal model of depression can even be reduced with the injection of an agonist (D´Aquila et al., 1994). These findings are in line with the fact that stress, a risk factor for the development of depression, reduces D1R in mPFC excitatory neurons (Shinohara et al., 2018). Specific optogenetic stimulation of D1R expressing pyramidal cells in the mPFC was able to produce rapid and long-lasting antidepressant and anxiolytic responses (Hare et al., 2019). This raises the question as to how the D1R in the mPFC can modulate depressive-like behavior and if it could even act as a mediator in the switch from mania to depressive-like behavior in bipolar disorder.

 

 10 selected publications 

• Beyer, D.K.E., Horn L., Klinker N., Freund, N, (2021). Risky decision-making following prefrontal D1 receptor manipulation, Transl. Neurosci. 12(1), 432-443

• Beyer, D.K.E., Mattukat, A., Freund, N. (2021). Prefrontal dopamine D1 receptor manipulation influences anxiety behavior and induces neuroinflammation within the hippocampus. Int. J. Bipolar. Disord 9(1), 9.

• Manns, M., Basbasse Y.E., Freund N., Ocklenburg S. (2021) Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. (127), 593-606

• Bölükbas, I., Mundorf, A., Freund, N. (2020). Maternal separation in rats induces neurobiological and behavioral changes on the maternal side. Sci. Rep.10, 22431.

• Freund, N., Juckel, G. (2019). Bipolar Disorder: Its Etiology and How to Model in Rodents.Methods Mol. Biol. 2011, 61Ð77.

• Mundorf, A., Schmitz, J., Güntürkün, O., Freund, N., Ocklenburg, S. (2018). Methylation of MORC1: A possible biomarker for depression? Journal of Psychiatric Res. 103, 208Ð211.

• Beyer, D.K., Freund, N. (2017). Animal models for bipolar disorder: from bedside to the cage. Int. J. Biolar. Disord. 5, 35.

• Freund, N., Thompson, B. S., Sonntag, K., Meda, S., & Andersen, S. L. (2016). When the party is over: Depressive-like states in rats following termination of cortical D1 receptor overexpression. Psychopharmacology, 233(7), 1191Ð1201.

• Puig, M. V., Rose, J., Schmidt, R., Freund, N. (2014). Dopamine modulation of learning and memory in the prefrontal cortex: Insights from studies in primates, rodents, and birds. Front. Neural Circuits, 8(93).

• Sonntag, K.C., Brenhouse, H.C., Freund, N., Thompson, B.S., Puhl, M.A. (2014). Prefrontal cortical D1 dopamine receptors play a role in high-risk behaviors: A comparison with adolescence. Psychopharmacology, 231(8), 1615-26