Nitric oxide-cGMP-PKG signaling in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis modulates the cardiovascular responses to stress in male rats
The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) constitutes an important component of neural substrates of physiological and behavioral responses to aversive stimuli, and it has been implicated on cardiovascular responses evoked by stress. Nevertheless, the local neurochemical mechanisms involved in BNST control of cardiovascular responses during aversive threats are still poorly understood. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess the involvement of activation in the BNST of the neuronal isoform of the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), as well as of signaling mechanisms related to nitric oxide effects such as so...
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 21, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Lucas Barretto-de-Souza, Mariane B. Adami, Leandro A. Oliveira, Lucas Gomes-de-Souza, Josiane O. Duarte, Jeferson Almeida, Carlos C. Crestani Source Type: research
Neuropeptide S in the basolateral amygdala mediates an adaptive behavioral stress response in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder by increasing the expression of BDNF and the neuropeptide YY1 receptor
Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a regulatory peptide that has anxiolytic and arousal-promoting effects in rodents. We used an animal model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to assess long-term behavioral effects of a single dose of NPS, microinjected into the basolateral amygdala (BLA) 1h following exposure to predator-scent stress (PSS). To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which NPS attenuates behavioral stress responses, expression levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY), NPY-Y1 receptor (NPY-Y1R), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were evaluated in the hippocampus. (Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 20, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Cohen Hagit, Vainer Ella, Zeev Kaplan, Zohar Joseph, Math é A. Aleksander Source Type: research
Striatal structure and its association with N-Acetylaspartate and glutamate in autism spectrum disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are often comorbid and are associated with changes in striatal volumes and N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) and glutamate levels. Here, we investigated the relation between dorsal striatal volume and NAA and glutamate levels. We additionally compared striatal volume and shape between ASD, OCD and controls. T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images, proton spectra (1H-MRS) in the left striatum, and phenotypic information were collected from 54 children with ASD, 32 with OCD, and 56 controls (aged 8 –13 years) in a four-site study. (Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 20, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jilly Naaijen, Marcel P. Zwiers, Natalie J. Forde, Steven CR Williams, Sarah Durston, Daniel Brandeis, Jeffrey C. Glennon, The TACTICS consortium, Barbara Franke, David J. Lythgoe, Jan K. Buitelaar Source Type: research
Enhancing excitability of dopamine neurons promotes motivational behaviour through increased action initiation
Motivational deficits are a key symptom in multiple psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, schizophrenia and addiction. A likely neural substrate for these motivational deficits is the brain dopamine (DA) system. In particular, DA signalling in the nucleus accumbens, which originates from DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), has been identified as a crucial substrate for effort-related and activational aspects of motivation. Unravelling how VTA DA neuronal activity relates to motivational behaviours is required to understand how motivational deficits in psychiatry can be specifically targete...
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 16, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Linde Boekhoudt, Ellen C. Wijbrans, Jodie H.K. Man, Mieneke C.M. Luijendijk, Johannes W. de Jong, Geoffrey van der Plasse, Louk J.M.J. Vanderschuren, Roger A.H. Adan Source Type: research
Pharmacokinetics of risperidone in different application forms – Comparing long-acting injectable and oral formulations
We aimed to explore the differences in the pharmacokinetics of risperidone between oral and long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations using a large database of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). Plasma concentrations of risperidone (RIS), its active metabolite (9-OH-RIS) and the active moiety (AM) (RIS+9-OH-RIS), their concentration-to-dose (C/D) ratios and ratio of RIS/9-OH-RIS (an index of CYP2D6 metabolic activity) were used to compare patients receiving risperidone orally (n = 851) and those treated with LAI RIS (n = 63). (Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 16, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Georgios Schoretsanitis, Jose de Leon, Ekkehard Haen, Benedikt Stegmann, Christoph Hiemke, Gerhard Gr ünder, Michael Paulzen Source Type: research
1Hz rTMS of the right orbitofrontal cortex for major depression: Safety, tolerability and clinical outcomes
Conventional rTMS in major depressive disorder (MDD) targets the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, many patients do not respond to DLPFC-rTMS. Recent evidence suggests that the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a key role in ‘non-reward’ functions and shows hyperconnectivity in MDD. OFC-rTMS has been used successfully in obsessive-compulsive disorder, and achieved remission in an MDD case nonresponsive to DLPFC- and DMPFC-rTMS. Here, we assess the safety and tolerability of right OFC-rTMS, and examine the effectiven ess of inhibitory right OFC-rTMS in MDD, particularly among patients with pr...
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 16, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Kfir Feffer, Peter Fettes, Peter Giacobbe, Zafiris J. Daskalakis, Daniel M. Blumberger, Jonathan Downar Source Type: research
Association between increased EEG signal complexity and cannabis dependence
Both acute and regular cannabis use affects the functioning of the brain. While several studies have demonstrated that regular cannabis use can impair the capacity to synchronize neural assemblies during specific tasks, less is known about spontaneous brain activity. This can be explored by measuring EEG complexity, which reflects the spontaneous variability of human brain activity. A recent study has shown that acute cannabis use can affect that complexity. Since the characteristics of cannabis use can affect the impact on brain functioning, this study sets out to measure EEG complexity in regular cannabis users with or w...
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 10, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Vincent Laprevote, Laura Bon, Julien Krieg, Thomas Schwitzer, St éphanie Bourion-Bedes, Louis Maillard, Raymund Schwan Source Type: research
Time and psychostimulants: Opposing long-term structural effects in the adult ADHD brain. A longitudinal MR study
Long-term effects of psychostimulants such as methylphenidate on ADHD patients have been proved to be difficult to capture in cross-sectional studies comparing medicated and non-medicated samples and in longitudinal studies with children, with age-related maturational processes possibly confounding independent effects of medication. However, chronic psychostimulant administration at therapeutic doses has been proven to yield profound neuroadaptive changes in rodent models. Here, we present for the first time the effect of psychostimulant treatment on brain volumes in a sample of medication-na ïve adult ADHD patients. (Sou...
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 9, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Clara Pretus, J. Antoni Ramos-Quiroga, Vanessa Richarte, Montse Corrales, Marisol Picado, Susanna Carmona, Óscar Vilarroya Source Type: research
Pharmacokinetic and behavioural profile of THC, CBD, and THC+CBD combination after pulmonary, oral, and subcutaneous administration in rats and confirmation of conversion in vivo of CBD to THC
Metabolic and behavioural effects of, and interactions between Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are influenced by dose and administration route. Therefore we investigated, in Wistar rats, effects of pulmonary, oral and subcutaneous (sc.) THC, CBD and THC+CBD. Concentrations of THC, its metabolites 11-OH-THC and THC-COOH, and CBD in serum and brain were determined over 24h, locomotor activity (open field) and sensorimotor gating (prepulse inhibition, PPI) were also evaluated. In line with recent knowledge we expected metabolic and behavioural interactions between THC and CBD. (Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 9, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tom áš Hložek, Libor Uttl, Lukáš Kadeřábek, Marie Balíková, Eva Lhotková, Rachel R. Horsley, Pavlína Nováková, Klára Šíchová, Kristýna Štefková, Filip Tylš, Martin Kuchař, Tomáš Páleníček Source Type: research
The antipsychotic drug brexpiprazole reverses phencyclidine-induced disruptions of thalamocortical networks
Brexpiprazole (BREX), a recently approved antipsychotic drug in the US and Canada, improves cognitive dysfunction in animal models, by still largely unknown mechanisms. BREX is a partial agonist at 5 ‐HT1A and D2 receptors and antagonist at α1B- and α2C-adrenergic and 5-HT2A receptors all with a similar potency. The NMDA receptor antagonist phencyclidine (PCP), used as pharmacological model of schizophrenia, activates thalamocortical networks and decreases low frequency oscillations (LFO; (Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 8, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Hanna E. van den Munkhof, J ørn Arnt, Pau Celada, Francesc Artigas Source Type: research
Increased functional coupling of 5-HT1A autoreceptors to GIRK channels in Tph2-/- mice
Firing activity of serotonergic neurons is under regulatory control by somatodendritic 5-HT1A autoreceptors (5-HT1AARs). Enhanced 5-HT1AAR functioning may cause decreased serotonergic signaling in brain and has thereby been implicated in the etiology of mood and anxiety disorders. Tryptophan hydroxylase-2 knockout (Tph2-/-) mice exhibit sensitization of 5-HT1A agonist-induced inhibition of serotonergic neuron firing and thus represents a unique animal model of enhanced 5-HT1AAR functioning. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying 5-HT1AAR supersensitivity in Tph2-/- mice, we characterized the activation of G protein-coupled...
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 7, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Boris Mlinar, Alberto Montalbano, Jonas Waider, Klaus-Peter Lesch, Renato Corradetti Source Type: research
Editorial Board
(Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
ECNP Calendar of Events
(Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Contents
(Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - November 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Behavioural and computational methods reveal differential effects for how delayed and rapid onset antidepressants effect decision making in rats
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. Until the recent discovery of the rapid onset antidepressant action of ketamine, pharmacological treatments for MDD were limited to conventional antidepressant drugs with delayed clinical efficacy. Using a judgement bias task, this study has investigated whether the temporal differences observed in patients would be reflected in affective biases and decision making behaviour in rodents. The diffusion model was also used to investigate the underlying decision making processes. (Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology)
Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - October 31, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Claire A. Hales, Conor J. Houghton, Emma S.J. Robinson Source Type: research
