Mitochondrial Function in Depression (PD Dr. L. Holper) (Junior)

Mood disorders have a high life-time prevalence and cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to contribute to the pathophysiology of mood disorders but previous work was unable to clearly attribute mitochondrial biomarkers to depression. Our main goal is to conduct research patients with depression (1) to evaluate different aspects of mitochondrial function in the peripheral blood and the brain using neuroimaging, in order (2) to contribute to our understanding how differences in mitochondrial function might be related to the underlying disease, the early lifetime development, the antidepressant medication, or other environmental factors.