Acute d-serine treatment produces antidepressant-like effects in rodents
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology September 12, 2011 Oz Malkesman, Daniel Austin, Tyson Tragon et al. 91 citations
D-serine, a co-agonist at NMDA receptors, produces antidepressant-like effects in rodents. A single acute dose of D-serine reduced immobility in the forced swim test without affecting motor function, reversed sexual reward-seeking deficits caused by serotonin depletion, and reversed learned helplessness behavior. Mice lacking NMDA receptor NR1 subunits in forebrain excitatory neurons showed a depression-like phenotype and did not respond to D-serine. These findings suggest D-serine has antidepressant-like effects and support the idea of complex glutamatergic dysfunction in depression, though it remains unclear whether D-serine shares a convergent mechanism with NMDA antagonists like ketamine.