Depression and stress

In the second of its colloquium series, the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Colloquium hosted a talk by Ronald S. Duman, Ph.D., on the “Neurobiology of Stress, Depression, and Antidepressants: Remodeling Synaptic Connections” on June 12. The lecture at the Cohen Auditorium in the Child Study Center, attended by about 85 students and faculty, coincided with the publication of the June issue of the journal, which focuses on psychology and psychiatry.

Duman, the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and professor of neurobiology, said that depression affects about 17 percent of the population. It is not only a serious health issue, but a huge economic burden, he said. The causes of depression and mechanism of action are still not well understood, he said, and “that is a big portion of what my lab is focused on.”