December 12, 2005

About Trust-building Hormone

brain chemical recently found to boost trust appears to work by reducing activity and weakening connections in fear-processing circuitry, a brain imaging study at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has discovered. Scans of the hormone oxytocin's effect on human brain function reveal that it quells the brain's fear hub, the amygdala, and its brainstem relay stations in response to fearful stimuli. The work at NIMH and a collaborating site in Gera number of suggests new approaches to treating diseases thought to involve amygdala dysfunction and social fear, such as social phobia, autism, and possibly schizophrenia, report Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, M.D., Ph.D., NIMH Genes Cognition and Psychosis Program, and his colleagues, in the December 7, 2005 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

"Studies in animals, pioneered by now NIMH director Dr. Thomas Insel, have shown that oxytocin plays a key role in complex emotional and social behaviors, such as attachment, social recognition and aggression" noted NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D. "Now, for the first time, we can literally see these same mechanisms at work in the human brain."

"The observed changes in the amygdala are exciting as they suggest that a long-acting analogue of oxytocin could have therapeutic value in disorders characterized by social avoidance," added Insel.

Inspired by Swiss researchers who last summer reported1 that oxytocin increased trust in humans, Meyer-Lindenberg and his colleagues quickly mounted a brain imaging study that would explore how this works at the level of brain circuitry. British scientists had earlier linked increased amygdala activity to decreased trustworthiness2. Having just discovered decreased amygdala activity (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/williamspathway.cfm) in response to social stimuli in people with a rare genetic brain disorder that rendered them overly trusting of others, Meyer-Lindenberg hypothesized that oxytocin boosts trust by suppressing the amygdala and its fear-processing networks.........

Daniel      Permalink

Send Teens the Message about the Link Between Drug Abuse and HIV (December 11, 2005)
Drug Abuse and HIV: Learn the Link" is the message of a new public awareness campaign announced November 29, 2005, by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. "Drug abuse prevention is HIV prevention," says NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. "Research has shown that a significant proportion of young people are not concerned about becoming infected with HIV. In recent years, the number of young people in the United States diagnosed with AIDS rose substantially. Because drug use encourages risky behaviors that can promote HIV transmission, NIDA views drug abuse therapy as essential HIV prevention."

Visualization of Stress (December 8, 2005)

MRI For Schizophrenia Diagnosis (December 8, 2005)

Brain And Autism (December 7, 2005)

Psychosocial Disability And Bipolar Symptoms (December 7, 2005)

Stress And Wound Healing (December 7, 2005)

Making Exercise More Fun (December 6, 2005)

Autistic Children's Brains Grow Larger (December 6, 2005)

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (December 5, 2005)

Biological Imprint Of Childhood Neglect  (December 5, 2005)

Family Habits Andt Drinking (December 5, 2005)

Text Messaging Craze (December 5, 2005)

people with holiday blues see red (December 5, 2005)

ADHD Medication Might Also Treat Hyperactivity Symptoms (December 2, 2005)

Controlling Drug Addictions (December 2, 2005)

Parents trained to help treat teens' eating disorders  (December 1, 2005)

Long-term Benefits of Psychotherapy for PTSD (December 1, 2005)

First Human Tests of Antidepressant Bupropion (November 29, 2005)

Molecular Approach to Fighting, and Perhaps Preventing, Schizophrenia (November 29, 2005)

Resequencing Technology to Study Autism (November 29, 2005)