Responsibilities
Research Group Leader "Neurobiology of Stress Resilience"
Contact
Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics
Kraepelinstr. 2
D-80804 Munich
Phone:
+49 (0)89 / 30622-519
Fax:
+49 (0)89 / 30622-610
Email:
mschmidt@psych.mpg.de
Website:
http://www.psych.mpg.de/1496026/schmidt_m
Further Information
Research focus:
Stress-associated diseases, with depression leading the way, affect the quality of life of more than a billion people worldwide. Today, it is undisputed that environmental factors such as acute traumatic experiences or chronic stress contribute significantly to the development of depression. On the other hand, it is still largely unknown how specific genetic variants or environmental factors impact on the vulnerability or resilience of an individual to environmental challenges. The main focus of this research group is to study the impact of acute and chronic stress on the body during different developmental stages. Specifically, we are interested in the behavioral, neuroendocrine and molecular basis of individual stress vulnerability and resilience. To this end, we use a broad spectrum of approaches, ranging from different acute or chronic stress models in transgenic or knockout animals to pharmacological or optogenetic manipulations. By combining state-of-the-art behavioral, neuroendocrine and molecular readouts, we aim to develop novel pharmacological or genetic approaches to modulate, reverse or even prevent individual stress vulnerability.
Key words: Behavioral neuroscience, molecular neurobiology
Selected publications:
Hartmann J, Dedic N, Pöhlmann ML, Häusl A, Karst H, Engelhardt C, Westerholz S, Wagner KV, Labermaier C, Hoeijmakers L, Kertokarijo M, Chen A, Joëls M, Deussing JM, Schmidt MV; (2016) Forebrain glutamatergic, but not GABAergic neurons mediate anxiogenic effects of the glucocorticoid receptor; Molecular Psychiatry, in press
Uribe-Marino A, Gassen NC, Wiesbeck MF, Balsevich G, Santarelli S, Solfrank B, Dournes C, Fries GR, Masana M, Labermaier C, Wang XD, Hafner K, Schmid B, Rein T, Chen A, Deussing JM, Schmidt MV; (2016) Prefrontal cortex corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 conveys acute stress-induced executive dysfunction; Biological Psychiatry, in press
Hartmann J, Wagner KV, Gaali S, Kirschner A, Kozany C, Rüther G, Dedic N, Häusl AS, Hoeijmakers L, Westerholz S, Namendorf C, Gerlach T, Uhr M, Chen A, Deussin J, Holsboer F, Hausch F, Schmidt MV; (2015) Pharmacological inhibition of the psychiatric risk factor FKBP51 has anxiolytic properties; Journal of Neuroscience 35(24):9007-16
Arloth J, Bogdan R, Weber P, Frishman G, Menke A, Wagner KV, Schmidt MV, Karbalai N, Czamara D, Müller-Myhsok B, Altmann A, Trübach D, Wurst W, Metha D, Uhr M, Klengel T, Erhardt A, Drabant EM, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC), Ruepp A, Hariri AR, Binder EB; (2015) Genetically determined differences in the immediate transcriptome response to stress predict risk-related brain function and psychiatric disorders; Neuron 86(5):1189-202
Gassen NC, Hartmann J, Zannas AS, Kretzschmar A, Zschocke J, Maccarrone G, Hafner K, Zellner A, Kollmannsberger LK, Wagner KV, Metha D, Kloiber S, Turck CW, Lucae S, Chrousos GP, Holsboer F, Binder EB, Ising M, Schmidt MV, Rein T; (2015) FKBP51 inhibits GSK3ß and augments the effects of distinct psychotropic medications; Molecular Psychiatry 21(2):277-89
Gaali S, Kirschner A, Cuboni S, Hartmann J, Kozany C, Balsevich G, Namendorf C, Fernandez-Vizarra P, Almeida OFX, Rüther G, Uhr M, Schmidt MV, Touma C, Bracher A, Hausch F; (2015) Selective inhibitors for the psychiatric risk factor FKBP51 enabled by an induced-fit mechanism; Nature Chemical Biology 11(1):33-7
Gassen NC, Hartmann J, Zschocke J, Stepan J, Hafner K, Zellner A, Kirmeier T, Kollmannsberger L, Wagner KV, Dedic N, Balsevich G, Deussing JM, Kloiber S, Lucae S, Holsboer F, Eder M, Uhr M, Isig M, Schmidt MV*, Rein T*; (2014) Association of FKBP51 with priming autophagy pathways and mediating antidepressant treatment response: Evidence in cells, mice and humans; Plos Medicine, 11(11):e1001755, *shared senior authorship
Wagner KV, Hartmann J, Labermaier C, Häusl AS, Zhao G, Harbich D, Schmid B, Wang XD, Santarelli S, Kohl C, Gassen NC, Matosin N, Schieven M, Webhofer C, Turck CW, Lindemann L, Jaschke G, Wettstein JG, Rein T, Müller MB, Schmidt MV; (2014) Homer1/mGluR5 activity moderates vulnerability to chronic social stress; Neuropsychopharmacology 40(5):1222-33
Wang XD, Su YA, Wagner KV, Avrabos C, Scharf SH, Hartmann J, Wolf M, Liebl C, Kühne C, Wurst W, Holsboer F, Eder M, Deussing JM, Müller MB, Schmidt MV; (2013) Nectin-3 links CRHR1 signaling to stress-induced memory deficits and spine loss; Nature Neuroscience 16(6):706-13
Schmidt MV, Schülke JP, Liebl C, Stiess M, Avrabos C, Bock M, Wochnik GM, Davies HA, Zimmermann N, Scharf SH, Trümbach D, Wurst W, Zieglgänsberger W, Turck C, Holsboer F, Stewart M, Bradke F, Eder M, Müller MB, Rein T; (2011) The tumor suppressor DRR1 is a stress-induced actin bundling factor that modulates synaptic efficacy and cognition; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(41):17213-8