Amygdala News and Research

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Variants of ASIC1a gene appear to be associated with panic disorder

Panic disorder is a severe form of anxiety in which the affected individual feels an abrupt onset of fear, often accompanied by profound physical symptoms of discomfort. Scientists have known from studying twins that genes contribute to the risk of panic disorder, but very little is known about which specific genes are involved.

2 Dec 2014

Different forms of ASIC1a gene associated with panic disorder

Panic disorder is a severe form of anxiety in which the affected individual feels an abrupt onset of fear, often accompanied by profound physical symptoms of discomfort.

1 Dec 2014

Oxytocin hormone inhibits fear center in brain, shows study

Frightening experiences do not quickly fade from memory. A team of researchers under the guidance of the University of Bonn Hospital has now been able to demonstrate in a study that the bonding hormone oxytocin inhibits the fear center in the brain and allows fear stimuli to subside more easily.

14 Nov 2014

Study provides answers regarding scientific controversies about brain anatomy in autism research

In the largest MRI study to date, researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Carnegie Mellon University have shown that the brain anatomy in MRI scans of people with autism above age six is mostly indistinguishable from that of typically developing individuals and, therefore, of little clinical or scientific value.

6 Nov 2014

Even brief workouts can reduce risk of relapse during meth withdrawal

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that even brief workouts can reduce the risk of relapse in rats withdrawing from methamphetamine. In addition, the team found that exercise affected the neurons in a brain region that had never before been associated with meth withdrawal, suggesting a new direction for drug development.

5 Nov 2014

Researchers use light to erase specific memories in mice

Just look into the light: not quite, but researchers at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology have used light to erase specific memories in mice, and proved a basic theory of how different parts of the brain work together to retrieve episodic memories.

10 Oct 2014

New research illustrates how fear arises in the brain

An estimated 8% of Americans will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point during their lifetime. Brought on by an overwhelming or stressful event or events, PTSD is the result of altered chemistry and physiology of the brain.

16 Sep 2014

Brain imaging could assist bipolar depression diagnosis

Researchers have identified structural brain differences that could help to distinguish patients with unipolar and bipolar depression.

5 Sep 2014

Scientists solve mystery of why specific signaling pathway can be linked with alcohol dependence

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have solved the mystery of why a specific signaling pathway can be associated with alcohol dependence.

28 Aug 2014

Scientists alter emotional associations of specific memories

By manipulating neural circuits in the brain of mice, scientists have altered the emotional associations of specific memories.

28 Aug 2014

Amygdala stimulates stress responses in adults, say researchers

In contrast to evidence that the amygdala stimulates stress responses in adults, researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University have found that the amygdala has an inhibitory effect on stress hormones during the early development of nonhuman primates.

21 Aug 2014

Findings may help identify teens who are at risk for dangerous behaviors in the future

According to the CDC, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for adolescents. Compared to the two leading causes of death for all Americans, heart disease and cancer, a pattern of questionable decision-making in dire situations comes to light in teen mortality.

16 Aug 2014

Even with no explicit memory of childhood trauma, PTSD can develop in adulthood

There are many forms of memory and only some of these may be critical for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reports a new study by researchers at the University at Albany and the University of California Los Angeles.

14 Aug 2014

Study: Effects of testosterone on brain's response to threat cues in healthy men

A new study in Biological Psychiatry reports on a neural circuit for male aggression. Testosterone, a steroid hormone, is well known to contribute to aggressive behavior in males, but the neural circuits through which testosterone exerts these effects have not been clear.

12 Aug 2014

Molecule Notch involved in fear memory formation

Nature is thrifty. The same signals that embryonic cells use to decide whether to become nerves, skin or bone come into play again when adult animals are learning whether to become afraid.

7 Aug 2014

Subtle changes in gene can predict how brain reacts to stress

Scientists studying depression in teens have discovered that subtle changes in a gene can predict how the brain reacts to stress, which can cause such health issues as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and obesity.

5 Aug 2014

Epigenetic control of serotonin transporter predicts human brain function

The tiny addition of a chemical mark atop a gene that is well known for its involvement in clinical depression and posttraumatic stress disorder can affect the way a person's brain responds to threats, according to a new study by Duke University researchers.

4 Aug 2014

Researchers find differences in brain wiring between children with SPD and those with autism

Researchers at UC San Francisco have found that children with sensory processing disorders have decreased structural brain connections in specific sensory regions different than those in autism, further establishing SPD as a clinically important neurodevelopmental disorder.

31 Jul 2014

New electrical pattern in brains predicts how well individual animals fare in stressful situations

Some people can handle stressful situations better than others, and it's not all in their genes: Even identical twins show differences in how they respond.

30 Jul 2014

Drug paraphernalia triggers reward areas of brain differently in marijuana users

New research from The University of Texas at Dallas demonstrates that drug paraphernalia triggers the reward areas of the brain differently in dependent and non-dependent marijuana users.

16 Jul 2014