A model of dopamine and serotonin-kynurenine metabolism in cortisolemia: Implications for depression.

ABSTRACT: A major factor contributing to the etiology of depression is a neurochemical imbalance of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems, which is caused by persistently high levels of circulating stress hormones. Here, a computational model is proposed to investigate the interplay between dopaminergic and serotonergic-kynurenine metabolism under cortisolemia and its consequences for the onset of depression. The model was formulated as a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations represented with power-law functions. Parameter values were obtained from experimental data reported in the literature, biological databases, and other general information, and subsequently fine-tuned through optimization. Model simulations predict that changes in the kynurenine pathway, caused by elevated levels

SUBMITTER: Dalvi-Garcia F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8136856 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature