Peripheral insulin-like growth factor-I produces antidepressant-like behavior and contributes to the effect of exercise.

Growth factors in the brain are important to depression and it's treatment and we assessed the ability of peripherally administered insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) to influence behavior related to depression. We found that mice that received chronic IGF-I treatment showed antidepressant-like behavior in forced-swim and novelty-induced hypophagia (NIH) tests and increased sucrose consumption after chronic mild unpredictable stress exposure. Additionally, peripheral anti-IGF-I administration blocked exercise-induced antidepressant effects in the forced-swim test (FST). These results support the functional relevance of neurotrophic mechanisms to depression and extend this idea to include neurotrophic factors in the periphery.