Biological psychiatry
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Biological psychiatry · Mar 2006
Evidence for impaired cortical inhibition in patients with unipolar major depression.
Several lines of evidence suggest that central cortical inhibitory mechanisms, especially associated with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission, may play a role in the pathophysiology of major depression. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a useful tool for investigating central cortical inhibitory mechanisms associated with GABAergic neurotransmission in psychiatric and neurological disorders. ⋯ This study provides evidence of reduced GABAergic tone and motor threshold asymmetry in patients with major depression.