Serotonergic Influence on Leptin and BDNF in the Amygdala (2024)

Undergraduates: Srinidhi Manivasagam, Vanika Mehta, Monica Macharios, Taylor Jones

Faculty Advisor: Shveta Parekh
Department: Neuroscience

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3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a recreational drug that acts through inhibition of serotonin reuptake transporter 2 to elicit feelings of well-being and openness. As such, MDMA has been shown to aid in therapeutic rehabilitation for anxiety-related disorders such as post-traumatic-stress disorder. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein involved in memory processing and neuroplasticity, and previous studies show that when MDMA was administered in rodents, BDNF expression increased in the amygdala region. Furthermore, anxiety-related disorders have been correlated with decreased levels of BDNF within both human and rodent populations. In addition, leptin, a protein primarily responsible for regulating energy homeostasis, has also been shown to be involved in neurostructural modifications in instances such as the attenuation of long-term potentiation in the amygdala, which has been shown to decrease anxiolytic behaviors. In this study, we measured both BDNF and leptin gene expression, via RT-qPCR, in the amygdala of the male rat brain when administered MDMA 24 hrs and 1 hour before sacrifice in hopes to provide key insight of the intersection between anxiety and structural changes to provide further insight into the innervation of a possible proposed pathway. This data may provide key insight to the intersection between anxiety, behavioral function, and structural changes and pave the way for further studies on anxiety and PTSD to further analyze the function of each target in their proposed pathways.