Psychiatry & Psychology | By December 05, 2008 | By Mike Reeves-McMillan | 1 Comment

Conditioned Response – An Alternative to Antidepressant Drugs?

Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel and colleagues published an article in Neuron titled An Animal Model of a Behavioral Intervention for Depression. Using mice, they investigated the mechanisms of “learned safety” and its antidepressant effect.

“Learned safety” is created in mice using classical conditioning. By playing a tone only when the mice were safe from an electric shock, the team taught them to associate the tone with safety. They were then able to achieve an effect comparable to giving the mice antidepressant drugs by playing the tone while the mice were undergoing stress. Read more →