Brain areas implicated in the stress PD98059 purchase response include the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Neurochemical systems, including Cortisol and norepinephrine, play a critical role in the stress response. These brain areas play an important role in the stress response. They also play a critical role in memory, highlighting the important interplay Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical between memory and the traumatic stress response. Preclinical studies show that stress affects these brain areas. Furthermore, antidepressants have effects on the hippocampus that counteract the effects of stress. In fact, promotion of nerve growth

(neurogenesis) in the hippocampus may be central to the efficacy of the antidepressants. Studies in patients with PTSD show alterations in brain areas implicated in animal studies, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, as well as in neurochemical stress response systems, including Cortisol and norepinephrine. Treatments that are efficacious for PTSD show a promotion of neurogenesis in animal studies, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical as well as promotion of memory

and increased hippocampal volume in PTSD. Future studies are needed to assess neural mechanisms in treatment response in PTSD. Selected abbreviations and acronyms ACTH adrenocorticotropic hormone BDNF brain-derived neurotropic factor BPD bipolar disorder CRF corticotropin-releasing factor CS conditioned stimulus Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical FDG fluorodeoxyglucose HPA hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal MRI magnetic resonance imaging mRNA messenger ribonucleic acid NAA N-acetyl aspartate PET positron emission tomography PTSD post-traumatic stress disorder US unconditioned stimulus
Fear, as the perception of danger, Is an adaptive

response, and fundamental In problem-solving and survival In fact, fear Is an emotion that likely evolved as part of problem-solving.1 Appraisal mechanisms which discern danger become overactive, leading to Increased perception of fear, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical which then leads to anxious thought, and perhaps to endless gloom.2,3 In psychological terms, both anxious and depressive states have a common core of heightened negative affect,4 a product of overactivity of the neural systems that underlie fear3,5 and that contribute to a number of affective disorders.6 While fear Is a central state whatever of the brain, changes In heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, facial muscles, and catecholamines, both peripheral and central, all Influence the state of fear.3,5 One should note at the outset that fear, of which there are several kinds (conditioned fear, fear of unfamiliar objects, fear to sensory stimuli, etc7), is more than amygdala function, and amygdala function Is more than fear8,9; however, fear Is one thing In which the amygdala participates, and exaggerated amygdala activation creates a vulnerability to affective disorders.