Repeated Nitrous Oxide Exposure Exerts Antidepressant-Like Effects Through Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex.
Frontiers in psychiatry January 1, 2020 Wei Liu, Qian Li, Binglu Ye et al.
Repeated exposure to nitrous oxide (N2O) produces antidepressant-like effects in mice by activating the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)/nitric oxide (NO) pathway in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). This activation increases burst firing activity and BDNF expression in an nNOS-dependent manner. Blocking nNOS in the mPFC prevented these antidepressant-like effects, suggesting that the nNOS/NO pathway is a key mechanism underlying N2O's antidepressant action.