Sakthivel Sekar1, Marleen Verhoye2, Johan Van Audekerke2, Greetje Vanhoutte2, Andrew M. Blamire3, Thomas Steckler4, Mohammed Shoaib1, Annemie Van der Linden2
1Psychobiology Research Group, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, UK; 2Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; 3Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; 4Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Beerse, Belgium
Pharmacological MRI (phMRI) is a rapidly developing non-invasive advancement of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) - phMRI signatures (neuroactivity maps) can be utilized to investigate the effects of psychotropic compounds activity, thus serving as surrogate markers to screen for novel therapeutics. The study aims to map the key regions susceptible to acute and chronic exposure of the novel antidepressants: citalopram, reboxetine & bupropion in rodents there by to pharmacologically characterize the mechanisms underlying their clinical efficacy, using phMRI. This approach has also been extended to investigate the specific-receptor involvement by combining antidepressant with a highly receptor-selective antagonist, to obtain deeper insight felicitating translational research activities, to & from the clinic.
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