NR3C1 and major depressive disorder: Moreover, in an attempt to decipher the mechanism through which GC could promote depression and affect neurodevelopment, Terada and colleagues also demonstrated that DEX binding to glucocorticoid receptors (GR) restricts NGF-promoted neurite outgrowth through a mechanism that prevents PI3K-Akt and Ras-Erk1/2/MAPK pathways (Terada et al., 2014).