Amygdala News and Research

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Researchers identify brain cells related to fear - paves way for more effective PTSD treatments

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that in any given year, about 40 million adults (18 or older) will suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, including debilitating conditions such as phobias, panic disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is estimated that nearly 15 percent of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan develop PTSD, underscoring the urgency to develop better treatment strategies for anxiety disorders.

10 Jul 2008

New research finds 'grumpy oldies' are having fun!

Australian researchers have found that there is a very strong possibility that youth really is wasted on the young.

17 Jun 2008

Long term dope use shrinks the brain

According to Australian researchers the long term use of marijuana may cause parts of the brain which control memory, emotion and aggression, to shrink.

3 Jun 2008

Long-term, heavy cannabis use may shrink brain's hippocampus and amygdala

Long-term, heavy cannabis use may be associated with structural abnormalities in areas of the brain known as the hippocampus and amygdala, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

2 Jun 2008

New insights into the neural circuitry of trust

The brain centers triggered by a betrayal of trust have been identified by researchers, who found they could suppress such triggering and maintain trust by administering the brain chemical oxytocin. The researchers said their findings not only offer basic insights into the neural machinery underlying trust; the results may also help in understanding the neural basis of social disorders such as phobias and autism.

21 May 2008

Gut hormone makes food appear more desirable

A gut hormone that causes people to eat more does so by making food appear more desirable, suggests a new report in the May issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press. In a brain imaging study of individuals, the researchers found that reward centers respond more strongly to pictures of food in subjects who had received an infusion of the hormone known as ghrelin.

6 May 2008

Alcohol affects threat-detecting brain circuits

New brain imaging research published this week shows that, after consuming alcohol, social drinkers had decreased sensitivity in brain regions involved in detecting threats, and increased activity in brain regions involved in reward.

29 Apr 2008

Depressives at an increase risk for Alzheimer's

According to researchers in Holland people who are depressed are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

9 Apr 2008

Depression and Alzheimer's

People who have had depression are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than people who have never had depression, according to a study published in the April 8, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Apr 2008

Alcohol alters prefrontal cortex activity through ion channel disruption

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) region of the brain is involved in decision making. New rodent findings show that PFC neuron N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors are especially sensitive to concentrations of alcohol achieved during drinking.

4 Apr 2008

HDAC inhibitors show potential as therapeutic agents in treating alcoholism

Reshaping of the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain may play a major role in the alcohol withdrawal symptoms, particularly anxiety, that make it so difficult for alcoholics to stop using alcohol.

3 Apr 2008

Smell impairment can precede the development of Parkinson's disease in men

Impaired sense of smell occurs in the earliest stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) and there is mounting evidence that it may precede motor symptoms by several years, although no large-scale studies had confirmed this.

24 Mar 2008

New understanding of the differential effects of emotion regulation strategies on the human brain

Emotions play an important role in the lives of humans, and influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions, and interactions.

19 Mar 2008

Children of alcoholics: different brain regions effect who may or may not develop alcohol problems

Although children of alcoholics (COAs) have a greater risk of developing alcohol-use disorders (AUDs), not all COAs will develop AUDs.

6 Mar 2008

Protein within neurons in the amygdala controls development of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and drinking behaviors

Doctors may one day be able to control alcohol addiction by manipulating the molecular events in the brain that underlie anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center report in the March 5 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

6 Mar 2008

Genetic variations increase risk of anxiety disorders

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers - in collaboration with scientists at the University of California at San Diego and Yale University - have discovered perhaps the strongest evidence yet linking variation in a particular gene with anxiety-related traits.

4 Mar 2008

Genetic tags reveal secrets of memories' staying power in mice

A better understanding of how memory works is emerging from a newfound ability to link a learning experience in a mouse to consequent changes in the inner workings of its neurons.

21 Feb 2008

Oxytocin hormone promotes bonding

Gazing into your lover's eyes isn't only romantic; it may also mimic early attachments that forever alter your brain and body.

11 Feb 2008

Video games activate reward regions of brain in men more than women

Allan Reiss, MD, and his colleagues have a pretty good idea why your husband or boyfriend can't put down the Halo 3. In a first-of-its-kind imaging study, the Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play.

4 Feb 2008

Overweight people may not know when they've had enough

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have found new clues to why some people overeat and gain weight while others don't.

10 Jan 2008