What if there were a medication that could simply switch off bad memories?
University of California, Irvine (UCI) researchers have identified the brain mechanism that turns off traumatic feelings associated with bad memories. This finding could lead to the development of drugs to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Panic Disorder, and other Anxiety Disorders.
Rainer Reinscheid, pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences associate professor at UCI, said,
The exciting part of this study is that we have discovered a completely new process that regulates the adverse responses to bad memories.
These findings can help the development of new drugs to treat conditions in which people are haunted by persistent fears, such as posttraumatic stress disorder or other panic disorders.
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Tagged as:
Amygdala,
Anxiety Disorder,
Medications,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
Research
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 40 million American adults, or 18 percent, of people have an Anxiety Disorder in a given year.
In addition, it is estimated that nearly 15 percent of US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
PTSD can lead to myriad problems that hinder daily life – or ruin it altogether – such as drug abuse, alcoholism, marital problems, unemployment and suicide.
This increases the urgency to develop better treatment strategies for Anxiety Disorders.
Important new research has found that there is a type of cell in the brain that counteracts the fear response central to Anxiety Disorders, potentially paving the way for more effective drug treatments.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Amygdala,
Anxiety Disorder,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
