Professor Eero Castrén has been awarded the Anna-Monika Prize for his outstanding research in investigating the effects of neuronal plasticity and neurotrophic factors on the adult brain and their role in the mechanisms of action of antidepressant drugs.
His research has revealed a critical role of experience-dependent neuronal plasticity in the mechanisms of antidepressant drug action and a possibility to use pharmacology to reactivate a developmental-lime plasticity state in the adult brain.
The Anna-Monika Prize is awarded bi-annually to clinical and/or basic scientists who have made major contributions to the understanding of the underlining neurobiological mechanisms of depression and who have advanced the pharmacological options for affective disorders.
The EUR 15,000 prize will be given on 9 October 2017 in Berlin.