Mental Health

Neuroscientists determine how treatment for anxiety disorders silences fear neurons
Excessive fear can develop after a traumatic experience, leading to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. During exposure therapy, an effective and common treatment for anxiety disorders, the patient confronts a fear or memory of a traumatic event in a safe environment, which leads to a gradual loss of fear. A new study in mice, published online today in Neuron, reports that exposure therapy remodels an inhibitory junction in the amygdala, a brain region important for fear in mice and humans. The findings improve our understanding of how exposure therapy suppresses fear responses and may aid in developing more effective treatments. MedicalXpress

Antidepressant drug induces a juvenile-like state in neurons of the prefrontal cortex
For long, brain development and maturation has been thought to be a one-way process, in which plasticity diminishes with age. The possibility that the adult brain can revert to a younger state and regain plasticity has not been considered, often. In a paper appearing on November 4 in the online open-access journal Molecular Brain, Dr. Tsuyoshi Miyakawa and his colleagues from Fujita Health University show that chronic administration of one of the most widely used antidepressants fluoxetine (FLX, which is also known by trade names like Prozac, Sarafem, and Fontex and is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) can induce a juvenile-like state in specific types of neurons in the prefrontal cortex of adult mice. Eurekalert!

Study looks at safety, effectiveness of generics for treating depression
The research is supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is the only study of its kind funded by the agency. The study will determine whether brand-name 300 mg bupropion hydrochloride (HCl) extended-release (ER) tablets—sold commercially as Wellbutrin XL—and the various generic versions of bupropion HCl ER tablets work the same in the body and deliver the same therapeutic benefits. MedicalXpress