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    Started by Kevin Fomalont October 31st, 2011

    Depression - An Illness of the Whole Body

Depression - An Illness of the Whole Body

This video includes a a short description of my project, and music and photos. There are photos of my presentation of my bachelor's thesis on anxious behavior to the International stress and Behavior Society, the Institute of Experimental Medicine, as wel

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Science

Depression - An Illness of the Whole Body

Mental illness runs in my family. My father has suffered from bipolar disorder for the last 20 years, but medications have helped only some of his symptoms. I can barely remember who he was before he became ill, and unfortunately neither can he. There are millions of families suffering as a loved one gradually loses the capacity to understand the world around them. I am interested in depression research for personal and for intellectual reasons, and that is why you can be sure your kind donation will be used wisely.

This project is based on the concept that mental illness is a problem of the whole body. My research draws on concepts from psychoneuroimmunology, a new interdisciplinary field concerned with the integration of scientific knowledge. Please see the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society's webpage and a description of the type of research we do:

https://www.pnirs.org/meetings/pastmeetings.cfm

I am discovering how the immune system alters brain development when exposed to early life stress. Early life stress in humans is a potent risk factor for the development of mental illness in adolescence and adulthood. Currently, neuroscientists are overly focused on the brain's role in depression. It was thought that immune factors could not reach the brain, leading to the perception the brain functions autonomously. New research has shown that early life stress activates the immune system, which changes the size of regions of the brain involved in emotional processing. I will uncover how these immune factors change brain activity and lead to depression.

I am likely to receive a Fulbright Fellowship to work at the Institute of Experimental Medicine  (http://www.iemrams.spb.ru/english/infoeng.htm) in St. Petersburg, Russia for 10 months, but the fellowship will only support living expenses and not research or publication costs. Ivan Pavlov performed his classic conditioning experiments in the same institute. I have been invited to work in the laboratory of Dr. Viktor Klimenko, who is an expert on immune system effects on the brain. This will be a rare opportunity for international collaboration between Russian and American Neuroscience researchers. Please help me fund the cost of equipment, that will include electrodes for recording of electrical activity, and assay kits to measure immune activity.

I have listed a goal of $5700 to pay for a minimum amount of research costs. Anything above $5700 will give me the the opportunity to fund more expensive experiments on the eletrical activity of neurons