Impact of psychotropic drugs on adult hippocampal neurogenesis

This review focuses on the relationship between psychotropic drugs and adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Adult neurogenesis is important for learning and memory, as well as for depression and anxiety. There is some evidence that chronic treatment with opiates, stimulants and entactogens decreases neurogenesis and consequently impairs cognitive function, as well as inducing depressive-like behaviour in animals during drug withdrawal. On the other hand, NMDA receptor antagonists increase neurogenesis, but negatively affect cognitive function and have an antidepressant-like profile.We suggest that drug-induced changes in neurogenesis have a greater and more concise effect on emotive state reflecting the direction of influencing new cells proliferation than the performance of cognitive tasks. In this review we provide some evidence for this assumption.

► We review the effect of psychotropic drugs on neurogenesis in humans and animals.
► Opiates and stimulants decreased neurogenesis and impaired cognitive function.
► Ketamine increased neurogenesis and decreased cognitive function.
► Drug induced neurogenesis is connected to emotive state.