Acta Psychopathologica Open Access

Dr. Boldizsar Czeh

Research Interest

The principal aim of my work as a neuroscientist was to develop animal models for neuropsychiatric disorders. I worked with rodent and primate models for major depression, sclerosis multiplex and Parkinson´s disease. We used these animal models to understand the neurobiological basis of these disorders and to test new treatment strategies. During most of my career, I worked in the German Primate Centre, where we developed a unique animal model for major depression, which was the chronic social defeat stress paradigm in tree shrews (a species closely related to primates). In this model, I studied the effects of chronic stress and antidepressant treatment on structural plasticity in limbic structures such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. I analyzed changes in adult neurogenesis, dendrtitic architecture of pyramidal cells, and changes affecting glial cells. We have made significant contribution to this field and many of our papers are highly cited and regarded as classics in the field.