Article
Psychology, Biological
Anthony Steven Dick, Karina Silva, Raul Gonzalez, Matthew T. Sutherland, Angela R. Laird, Wesley K. Thompson, Susan F. Tapert, Lindsay M. Squeglia, Kevin M. Gray, Sara Jo Nixon, Linda B. Cottler, Annette M. La Greca, Robin H. Gurwitch, Jonathan S. Comer
Summary: This study found that disaster exposure had an impact on post-traumatic stress in children aged 9 to 11, with media exposure exacerbating this effect. Neural responses in brain regions associated with anxiety increased vulnerability to media exposure.
NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Goran Simic, Mladenka Tkalcic, Vana Vukic, Damir Mulc, Ena Spanic, Marina Sagud, Francisco E. Olucha-Bordonau, Mario Vuksic, Patrick R. Hof
Summary: Emotions are generated by activations of specific neuronal populations in the cerebral cortex, while feelings are conscious emotional experiences of these activations that contribute to enhancing neuronal networks mediating thoughts, language, and behavior. Contemporary theories of emotion highlight the central role of the amygdala as a subcortical emotional brain structure.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nayoung Kim, M. Justin Kim
Summary: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by uncontrollable, persistent worry and exaggerated response to uncertainty. Functional neuroimaging studies targeting specific brain regions in the corticolimbic circuit have shown abnormal activity in GAD. Although heterogeneity in tasks and sample sizes limits generalizability, altered BOLD responsivity in the corticolimbic circuitry is a promising convergence in GAD research.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Leticia Leite, Nathalia Bianchini Esper, Jose Roberto M. Lopes Junior, Diogo Rizzato Lara, Augusto Buchweitz
Summary: This exploratory study identified differences in resting-state functional connectivity for the amygdala and its subregions in patients with PTSD compared to controls. The results showed a weaker functional connectivity between the superficial amygdala and posterior brain regions in PTSD patients, suggesting sensory and perceptual processes may be affected. Additionally, early traumatic experiences were associated with negative connectivity between the centromedial amygdala and sensory and perceptual regions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fanny Demars, Ralitsa Todorova, Gabriel Makdah, Antonin Forestier, Marie-Odile Krebs, Bill P. Godsil, Therese M. Jay, Sidney I. Wiener, Marco N. Pompili
Summary: Current treatments for trauma-related disorders are ineffective for many patients. This study modeled individual differences in post-therapy fear relapse using an ethologically relevant trauma recovery paradigm. The results suggest that post-trauma behavioral phenotypes and gene expression patterns are associated with fear relapse susceptibility, which may be important for future treatment development.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Einat Elharrar, Yahav Dikshtein, Sapir Meninger-Mordechay, Yehuda Lichtenstein, Gal Yadid
Summary: Recent research shows that inhibiting PARP-1 activity can interfere with fear conditioning and reduce freezing behavior. By controlling the pharmacokinetic timing, it is possible to specifically disrupt cue-associated fear memories without interfering with other natural memories.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Michael Adair, Michael Cronquist Christensen, Ioana Florea, Henrik Loft, Andrea Fagiolini
Summary: This study assessed the efficacy and tolerability of Vortioxetine in treating anxiety symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder. The results showed a clear dose-response relationship for Vortioxetine in improving depressive, anxiety, and functioning symptoms. Additionally, Vortioxetine was found to be superior to agomelatine in patients with an inadequate response to prior therapy.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Yuanshu Chen, Congcong Liu, Fei Xin, Haochen Zou, Yulan Huang, Jinyu Wang, Jing Dai, Zhili Zou, Stefania Ferraro, Keith M. Kendrick, Bo Zhou, Xiaolei Xu, Benjamin Becker
Summary: Major depression (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are leading causes of disability globally, with marked interpersonal and social impairments. This study used fMRI to investigate whether MDD and GAD share a neural basis during interpersonal processing. Results suggest that the dlPFC is involved in emotion-specific alteration during interpersonal processing, with depression symptom load positively associated with dlPFC reactivity to sad facial expressions. Dysregulated communication between the amygdala and salience network may be specific to depression.
PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Regina Pacitto, Craig Peters, Allesandra Iadipaolo, Christine A. Rabinak
Summary: Emotion dysregulation is a core component of PTSD. This study found that acute low dose of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) reduced negative affect and increased brain activation in certain regions during cognitive reappraisal, suggesting that THC may be a beneficial adjunct to PTSD treatment.
Article
Psychiatry
Jelena Vrublevska, Lubova Renemane, Anda Kivite-Urtane, Elmars Rancans
Summary: This study validated the GAD-7 and GAD-2 anxiety screening tools in primary care settings in Latvia. The results showed that both scales had good accuracy in detecting generalized anxiety disorder, making them suitable for use in this context.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Xi Zhu, Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, Amit Lazarov, Sara Such, Caroline Marohasy, Scott S. Small, Tor D. Wager, Martin A. Lindquist, Shmuel Lissek, Yuval Neria
Summary: Comparison between resilient, trauma-exposed healthy participants and trauma-exposed individuals with psychopathology reveals a resilience network connectivity signature in the right executive control network during generalization learning. The study highlights the deficient fear generalization and neural abnormalities resulting from trauma exposure, as well as the intact fear generalization in trauma-exposed individuals without significant psychopathology. These findings have important implications for developing innovative treatments targeting specific neural dysfunctions among trauma-exposed individuals across different psychopathologies.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Gabrielle Marcotte-Beaumier, Bailee L. Malivoire, Naomi Koerner
Summary: The study found a relationship between avoidance of negative emotional contrasts and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This relationship can be explained by a greater fear of emotional reactions and a lower tolerance for uncertainty. However, when considering fear of specific emotions, this relationship no longer exists.
CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Dayan Knox, Rebecca Della Valle, Negin Mohammadmirzaei, Brianna Shultz, Matt Biddle, Abigail Farkash, Marisa Chamness, Emily Moulton
Summary: The study found that traumatic stress enhances Akt phosphorylation in the Amy of rats, and inhibiting PI3K->Akt signaling in the BLA can reduce freezing behavior during extinction in stressed rats. This suggests that PI3K->Akt signaling may be a mechanism through which traumatic stress leads to fear memory resistant to extinction.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yiheng Tu, Yuqi Zhang, Yu Li, Qing Zhao, Yanzhi Bi, Xuejing Lu, Yazhuo Kong, Li Wang, Zhijie Lu, Li Hu
Summary: The study suggests that COVID-19 survivors may experience deteriorations in PTSS, with PCL-5 scores positively correlated with duration after discharge and potential changes in brain structural volumes in bilateral hippocampus and amygdala.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Shuming An, Jiayue Wang, Xuliang Zhang, Yanhong Duan, Yiqiong Xu, Junyan Lv, Dasheng Wang, Huan Zhang, Gal Richter-Levin, Oded Klavir, Buwei Yu, Xiaohua Cao
Summary: The research discovered that PTSD susceptible mice exhibited significant up-regulation of alpha CaMKII in the lateral amygdala, leading to PTSD-like behaviors. Inhibiting alpha CaMKII levels completely rescued these behaviors and related impairments, suggesting that alpha CaMKII may be a potential molecular determinant of PTSD.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF STRESS
(2021)