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Neurobiological Correlates (neurobiological + correlate)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	40%

Selected Abstracts

Neurobiological Correlates of Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue S1 2003
Article first published online: 14 AUG 200
Chair: Steven K. Sutton Participants: Richard J. Davidson, Robert T. Schultz, Louis A. Schmidt, Steven K. Sutton [source]

Effects of escitalopram on the regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor protein levels in a rat model of chronic stress

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 11 2009
Olaf Schulte-Herbrüggen
Abstract Escitalopram (ES-CIT) is a widely used, highly specific antidepressant. Until now there has been very little evidence on how this drug under pathological conditions affects an important feature within the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders such as depression: the endogenous neurotrophins. By using a well-characterized rat model in which chronic stress induces depressive-like behavior, the levels of neurotrophins brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) were determined in representative brain regions and serum using a highly sensitive improved fluorometric two-site ELISA system. There was a significant increase of BDNF in the left and right cortices after stress treatment (twofold increase) that was reversed by application of ES-CIT. An ES-CIT-dependent NGF reduction in stressed rats was detectable in the right cortex only (P = 0.027). The left hippocampus revealed significantly higher amounts of BDNF (2.5-fold increase) protein than the right hippocampus. These interhemispheric differences were unrelated to stress or ES-CIT treatment in all animals. BDNF and NGF of the frontal cortex, cerebellum, and serum did not change between the study groups. There was a negative correlation between body weight and serum BDNF, independent of stress or ES-CIT treatment. In conclusion, BDNF and NGF show substantial changes in this rodent model of chronic social stress, which is susceptible to antidepressant treatment with ES-CIT and therefore may constitute a neurobiological correlate for the disease. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia: a problem that will not go away

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 1 2007
S. M. Stahl
Objective:, Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are a common, enduring, and debilitating component of the psychopathology of schizophrenia. Although efforts thus far to elucidate a distinct schizophrenia subtype based upon negative symptoms have yielded mixed results, there are nevertheless neurobiological correlates of the negative symptom typology. Method:, A review of nosology, typology, and assessment tools for determining core negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Results:, Negative symptoms can be difficult to evaluate objectively. Current rating scales ,capture' key domains of negative symptoms, in spite of considerable overlap between these domains. However, each objective assessment trades off methodological rigor and detail against brevity of assessment and ease of use. Conclusion:, The description of new methods for measuring these devastating symptoms, coupled with the ongoing development of novel antipsychotics and agents that augment antipsychotics have fuelled renewed interest in the evaluation of negative symptoms and optimism that better treatments for negative symptoms can be found. [source]

Stability of resting frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry and cardiac vagal tone in adolescent females exposed to child maltreatment

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
Vladimir Miskovic
Abstract The experience of child maltreatment is a known risk factor for the development of psychopathology. Structural and functional modifications of neural systems implicated in stress and emotion regulation may provide one mechanism linking early adversity with later outcome. The authors examined two well-documented biological markers of stress vulnerability [resting frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry and cardiac vagal tone] in a group of adolescent females exposed to child maltreatment (n,=,38; M age,=,14.47) and their age-matched non-maltreated (n,=,25; M age,=,14.00) peers. Maltreated females exhibited greater relative right frontal EEG activity and lower cardiac vagal tone than controls over a 6-month period. In addition, frontal EEG asymmetry and cardiac vagal tone remained stable in the maltreated group across the 6 months, suggesting that the neurobiological correlates of maltreatment may not simply reflect dynamic, short-term changes but more long lasting alterations. The present findings appear to be the first to demonstrate stability of two biologically based stress-vulnerability measures in a maltreated population. Findings are discussed in terms of plasticity within the neural circuits of emotion regulation during the early childhood period and alternative causal models of developmental psychopathology. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 51: 474,487, 2009 [source]

Individual differences in psychophysiological reactivity in adults with childhood abuse

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 4 2002
Christian G. Schmahl
Little is known about the neurobiological correlates of stress-related disorders. In particular almost nothing is known about biological correlates of specific personality disorders that have been linked to stress. We measured heart rate and blood pressure reactivity in response to personalized traumatic scripts together with subjective psychological ratings in four women with a history of childhood abuse with no disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Histrionic Personality Disorder. Psychophysiology as well as subjective ratings differed markedly between the four women, with elevated reactions found in PTSD and histrionic personality, and extreme decline in physiological reactivity associated with a dissociative response in the borderline patient. It is concluded that reactivity to traumatic reminders can be correlated with the existence of different stress-related diagnoses. Personality characteristics seem to have an influence on psychophysiological reactivity in patients with stress-related psychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]