135 We recently showed that, PTSD patients had increased left, amygdala activation during fear acquisition and decreased mPFC/anterior cingulate activity during extinction (Bremner JD et al, unpublished data). Similar abnormalities may exist in other

anxiety disorder patients, most, notably PD, and deserve further study. It has been proposed that potentiating NMDA receptors using the glycine Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical agonist, D-cycloserine, may facilitate the extinction process when given in combination with behavioral therapy in patients with anxiety disorders.136 The neural basis of social behavior As reviewed previously, characteristics associated with resilience include those related to altruism, optimism, social interaction, and the capacity to attract and use support provided by others.3-5 Therefore, understanding the neural basis of altruism Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and other forms of adaptive social behavior may be relevant to a better conceptualization of the selleck chemicals psychobiology of resilience. Preclinical studies have used several rodent model systems to increase

our knowledge of how the brain processes social information and regulates social behavior.’137 Perhaps the most, informative model pertinent, to the clinical situation is the oxytocin knockout mouse and the study of the neurobiology of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical social behaviors in prairie and montane voles. Oxytocin and vasopressin appear to play crucial roles in the social behavior of prairie voles. These peptides Ponatinib 284028-89-3 increase the amount of time a vole spends socially engaged and involved in the formation of the pair bond. The differences in social behavior are explained by the regional expression of these peptides in brain. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Prairie voles, which are more socially active and monogamous, have high levels of oxytocin receptors in the NAc and BLA relative to montane voles.138

Similarly, prairie voles have high densities of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the vasopressin-la receptor in the ventral pallidum and medial amygdala compared with montane voles. Infusion of vasopressin has different, effects in the two Cilengitide voles; prairie voles increase social interaction and montane voles increase nonsocial behaviors such as autogrooming.l39The neural mechanisms responsible for the effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on social behavior are thought to involve the some of the same circuitry (NAc and ventral pallidum) as that involved in reward-related behavior. This suggests that activation of these brain regions during social interactions may facilitate the reinforcement, of social behavior. Highly resilient, individuals have exceptional abilities to form supportive social attachments even in the context of largely unrewarding environments. In contrast, patients prone to anxiety disorders, especially those with SAD, may be characterized by impairments in neural circuitry mediating responses to reward and social interaction.