Neurobiology and genetics of anxiety
in an animal model
by
Landgraf R.
Max-Planck-Institut fur Psychiatrie,Munchen.
Nervenarzt 2003 Mar;74(3):274-8

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a valid animal model of innate anxiety/depression: anxious (HAB) or non-anxious (LAB) rats, which show stable and robust responses in a variety of ethological tests. In addition to their extreme anxiety-related behavior, HAB animals are characterized by passive stress coping, an activated stress (HPA) axis, and increased stress vulnerability.The enhanced expression and release of arginine vasopressin (AVP) in the hypothalamus of HAB rats seem to underlie these phenomena.Accordingly, an AVP receptor antagonist attenuates anxiety-related behavior and normalizes the HPA axis and the dexamethasone/CRH test.Treatment with the antidepressive drug paroxetine reduces the overexpression of AVP and normalizes both the depression-like behavior and neuroendocrine correlates of anxiety/depression.The complex phenotyping led us to the conclusion that the AVP gene is likely to be a candidate gene of inborn anxiety. Partial genotyping of HAB animals results in the identification of polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter domain of the AVP gene, thus potentially leading to novel strategies of diagnosis and therapy of anxiety disorders and depression.

PTZ
GAD
SSRIs
Stress
F11440
Anxiety
Gepirone
Buspirone
Alprazolam
Adinazolam
Barbiturates
Benzodiazepines
Anxiety resources
Future anxiolytics
Anxiety and depression
Subthreshold syndromes
Better anti-anxiety drugs
Buspirone plus venlafaxine
Neuropepide Y and anxiety
Anxiolytics/antidepressants
The neural basis of anxiety
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Anxioselective compounds and GABA(A)

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