Role of Serotonin in Anxiety Disorders

Role of Serotonin in Anxiety Disorders Introduction Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is amonoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived fromtryptophan, is a chemical produced by the body that acts on the nervous system playing a crucial role in numerous pathological conditions and physiological processes. Its highest concentrations are in regions of the brain called the hypothalamus and the midbrain. Anxiety is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil manifesting itself through feelings of worry, dread, nervousness and unease leading to the individual suffering from anxiety becoming withdrawn. Mood, sleep, impulse control, eating, vigilance, libido, and cognitive functions, such as memory and learning are all regulated by serotonin neurotransmission. Serotonin is also essential in the regulation of anxiety and fear, as well as impulsiveness in violent acts and suicide (Akimova et al.,2009). There is great scientific interest on the role of serotonin in mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Anxiety is not simply an excess, depletion or efficacy of serotonin because according to data obtained this understanding would leave to many contradictions in its wake. It is postulated that the serotonergic projections located at the brainstem modulate different coping responses to acute aversive events. Events detected by visual, auditory or olfactory stimuli, evoke preparatory autonomic and motor responses, which form the central motive state of fear or anticipatory anxiety. During the anticipation of threat, animals display the fight-flight responses mediated by neuronal projections from the DRN. (JFW Deakin., 1998) The brainstem, at the level of the superior and inferior colliculi is one of the fundamental neurological regions of significance in anxiety. A system of grey matter is contained within this area surrounding the cerebral aqueduct and also the IVth and IIIrd ventricles connected to the cerebral aqueduct. Extending ventrally in the middle or raphe of the brainstem and lying embedded within the ventral periaqueductal grey matter (PAG) are the two main groups of neurones containing serotonin. Extensive branching axons are sent from the raphe nuclei by the serotonergic cells, to innervate all parts of the forebrain. The dorsal raphe core (DRN) innervates dopaminergic structures, for example, the corpus striatum and frontal cortex, both included with motor exercises. The median raphe nucleus(MRN) then innervates regions of the brain involved in the processing of memories and sensory information, for instance the hippocampus and the medial temporal lobe. It is proposed that these serotonergic projections regulate diverse coping reactions to chronic and acute aversive events. Acute events may be subdivided into distal and proximal events, according to how urgent the danger is. A threat becomes chronic if the proximal and distal defence mechanisms fail to either avoid or terminate it. Behavioural adaptation is elicited by repeated and chronic stress according to evidence. There are brain mechanisms which allow normal behaviours to emerge in the face of chronic adversity, and it has been suggested that such resilience is mediated by projections of the MRN [4]. When this system fails to respond, depression and anxiety is the result. Out of total of 14 different serotonin receptors the one most frequently studied for its relationship with anxiety is the 5-HT1A receptor, and is suggested to have a vital role in the etiology of anxiety disorders, this suggestion is fortified by the fact that partial 5-HT1A receptor agonists are anxiolytics (Akimova et al.,2009). The treatment of anxiety has to take account of the complexity of the serotonergic system. There are widely differentiated anatomical pathways associated with a variety of receptor subtypes (Deakin., 1998). The anxiolytic and anti-depressive effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) enables the treatment of both major depression and anxiety. (Sekiyama et al., 2013). The neurobiology of anxiety is substantially impacted by the serotonin system and particularly the 5-HT1A receptor evident from clinical and preclinical clinical research, including pharmacological trials, genetic studies and neuroimaging. However the serotonin system is also influenced by many other neurotransmitters and also affects these structures which are crucial for the expression and processing of anxiety (Coplan et al., 1998). Animal studies carried out by N.Santana et al, M.amargos-bosch et al, and MV.puig et al showed regulatory effects of the 5-HT1A receptor on GABAergic, glutamatergic ,and dopaminergic neurons, particularly within limbic and prefrontal cortex areas. There is a lack of human studies investigating the effects of 5-HT1A receptor activation on other neurotransmitter systems. Inherent problems of reproducing typical human stressful experiences in animal tests presents limitations in the use of mice as test subject’s in direct methodological and intersp ecies comparisons. To link results of 5-HT1A transgenic mice with clinical data compellingly it is crucial to carry out systematic multimodal studies in primates. A causal model of the influence of 5-HT1A in the etiology of anxiety disorders may be found in primates through the use of a combination of approaches with investigations of environmental risk factors such as stress and genetic polymorphisms in the serotonergic system. Anxiety disorders may be defined as biologically heterogeneous conditions influenced by environmental, genetic and epigenetic factors. Autonomic activation and intense unconditioned escape behaviour even in the absence of an imminent threat, in panic disorders can be caused by neuronal instability in the brains fight-flight mechanism. In anticipatory anxiety and in the pathogenesis of generalised anxiety disorders, it has been suggested by experimental evidence that excessive and inappropriate activation of DRN-5-HT2 pathways plays a crucial role. Anxiolytic drugs have been shown to decrease functioning in this system and experimental studies in volunteers show that 5-HT2 blockers and 5-HT2 agonists have the predicted effect on conditioned anxiety. Impaired 5-HT1A receptor function and depression appears to have a direct relationship. Through modification of memory mechanisms normal behaviour becomes possible in the face of chronic adversity due to contributions to resilience, by projections from the MRN to 5-HT1A receptors in the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe. When this defence fails the result is depression and/or anxiety. Thus it can be said that the disregulation of 5-HT1A receptors although evidently an important factor in anxiety disorders, cannot be said to be the primary factor in anxiety, however the role of the serotonin system in anxiety disorders can possibly be adaptive rather than pathogenic. Only by understanding the role of different serotonin projections and receptors in orchestration of psychological defences against various kinds of aversion can it be said that a coherent account of the role of serotonin in anxiety and depression is possible. authors year of publication title of journal article Asha S and Vidyavathi M. (2010) Role of human liver microsomes in in vitro metabolism of drugs – a review. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology 160 (6): 1699-1722. volume issue page range journal title number number References 1  Deakin JFW. (1998) The role of serotonin in depression and anxiety. European psychiatry  13 (2): 57s-63s 2  E. Akimova, R. Lanzenberger, and S. Kasper. (2009) The Serotonin-1A Receptor in Anxiety Disorders Biological psychiatry 66 (1): 627– 635 3.  Deakin JFW, Pennell I, Upadhyaya AK, Lofthouse R. A neuroendocrine study of 5HT function in depression: evidence for biological mechanisms of endogenous and psychosocial causation. Psychophology 1990 ; 4 : 357-60 4.  Hetem LAB, de Souza CJ, Guimaraes FS, Zuardi AW, Graeff FG.  Effect of d-fenfluramine on human experimental anxiety. Psychopharmacology  1996 ; 127 : 276-82 5.  Zuardi AW, Cosme RA, Graeff FG, Guimaraes FS. Effects of ipsapirone and cannabidiol on human experimental anxiety. J Psychopharmacology 1993 ; 7 : 82-8 6.  Delgado PL, Charney DS, Price LH, Aghajanian GK, Landis H, Heninger GR. Serotonin function and the mechanism of antidepressant action. Arch Gen Psychiat D, 1990 ; 47 : 411-18 7.  Kennett GA, Dickinson S, Curzon G. Antidepressant-like action of some 5-HT dependent behavioural responses following repeated immobilization in rats. Brain Res 1985 ; 330 : 253-63 8.  Coplan JD, Lydiard RB (1998): Brain circuits in panic disorder. Biol Psychiatry  44:1264 –1276. 9.  Santana N, Bortolozzi A, Serrats J,MengodG, Artigas F (2004): Expression of  serotonin1A and serotonin2A receptors in pyramidal and GABAergic neurons  of the rat prefrontal cortex. Cereb Cortex 14:1100–1109. 10.  Santana N, Bortolozzi A, Serrats J,MengodG, Artigas F (2004): Expression of  serotonin1A and serotonin2A receptors in pyramidal and GABAergic neurons  of the rat prefrontal cortex. Cereb Cortex 14:1100–1109. 11.  Amargos-Bosch M, Bortolozzi A, Puig MV, Serrats J, Adell A, Celada P, et  al. (2004): Co-expression and in vivo interaction of serotonin1A and  serotonin2A receptors in pyramidal neurons of prefrontal cortex. Cereb  Cortex 14:281–299. 12.  Ã‚  Puig MV, Artigas F, Celada P (2005): Modulation of the activity of pyramidal  neurons in rat prefrontal cortex by raphe stimulation in vivo:  Involvement of serotonin and GABA. Cereb Cortex 15:1–14.

English Lang and Composition Essay

The British naturalist and politician John Lubbock wrote, â€Å"Your character will be what you yourself choose to make it.† This brings up the idea of nurture and nature. Although this topic has been something discussed for many years, it is the influences beyond our control that shape our character. Even though many of people’s physical traits come from their parents, the mental and emotional characteristics come from outside influences that cannot be chosen, whether it is from personal experience or the way a person was raised. People are not born with all of their characteristics. A person gains their character as he/she is growing up and experiencing new situations. When a child in kindergarten takes a crayon from a fellow peer, the teacher scolds him/her and tells the child that is not right. The teacher’s tone of voice and the negative experience of getting in trouble is an indicator to the child that what he/she did was wrong and shouldn’t be done again. Education plays an important role in building a child’s character. When children receive education, they are taught morals that will benefit them in the future, and they receive a sense of discernment. The environment a person lives in can influence his/her characteristics. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a plane filled with English schoolboys crashes on an unknown island. The boys, who were used to living in a wealthy society where their needs were always provided for, had to adopt a new, completely different lifestyle in order to survive. Because there was no one to take care over the young boys, they became like savages, unbound by rules. This eventually led to them killing wild animals and even each other. Golding’s novel connects to the difficulties of traveling to other countries. Because of the cultural diversities, it is difficult for a person to adjust to the lifestyle of another country, because he/she has been living influenced by another environment. The media and pop culture are two reasons why our society has altered drastically over the past 20 years. In modern society, being different is something that is shunned upon. If a person lives a lifestyle that is different than what is popular and accepted, he/she is considered â€Å"weird† and â€Å"unacceptable†. This is why there are numerous cliques in schools, and why bullying is such a serious issue. People are afraid of judgment, and try to change who they are in order to fit in with the people they are surrounded by. The media and pop culture is exceptional at manipulating people into believing anything. They lead people to believe through advertising that what is popular is what they should live by. Take, for example, celebrities. Their fame, wealth, and talent are appealing. People desire to be like them because of their success, and try to live like these celebrities in hopes of becoming as successful as these celebrities. Nature certainly has an effect on a person’s character. It is called nature because it serves as a person’s foundation. However, it is through experiences that people are truly made distinct.

Economics in Todays Society - 1075 Words

Economics is defined as the study of how the forces of supply and demand allocate scarce resources. Economics can be subdivided into microeconomics, which examines the behavior of firms, consumers and the role of government; and macro economics, which looks at inflation, unemployment, industrial production, and the role of government (Investor Word, 2008). Economics can be further divided to include positive economics and normative economics. Positive economics is the study of what is, and how the economy works and normative economics is the study of what the goals of the economy should be. Simply put positive economics looks at how things such as current gas prices directly affect individual buying power and how that buying power affect†¦show more content†¦A change in anything that affects supply besides price causes a shift on the supply curve. Factors that affect the supply curve are; price of inputs, technology, expectations, and taxes and subsidies. If a producer fin ds that the cost for producing specific items is getting higher than supply of that item will begin to decrease as it is not economically sound to continue to make a large amount of these items. Technology has a direct affect on supply, as it becomes easier and less expensive to produce an item more of that item is produced. As with the demand curve expectation also has an affect on the supply curve, if consumers expect the cost of a product to increase they will buy more of that items which causes a decrease of supply. An example of this would be when the price of gas is expected to raise people will fill their car up and also fill gas containers. Tax also has an effect on the supply curve as it does on the demand curve, as taxes increase on a specific items then the supply for that particular items increase as people stop purchasing the item. In an article titled â€Å"Research focuses on Dining Pattern, Demographics,† it was reported that dining out has declined. 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Essay on Dissociative Identity Disorder - 800 Words

Dissociative Identity Disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities or personality states are present in, and alternately take control of an individual. People who suffer from DID often have no recollection of what they have done or said while under the influence of the alternate personalities. Friends, family, and the person with the disorder often have a hard time dealing with DID, because of the sporadic nature of the personalities. DID is a serious disorder that affects a person’s long-term and short-term memory, their own identity, and their self-control. There are many different symptoms of DID, such as multiple personalities, frequent gaps in memory, and even some†¦show more content†¦The goal of the therapy is to deconstruct the alternate personalities and uniting them into one. The therapist tries to make contact with as many of the personalities as possible in order to gather an understanding of their roles and functions in t he person’s life. They try to make contact with the personalities that may be violent or self-destructive tendencies a priority. Another goal of the therapist is to set up communication between the personalities in order to retrieve traumatic memories from the past. Other treatments include cognitive and creative therapies. Treatment is generally as an outpatient, but inpatient treatment may be used to achieve specific goals. An individual diagnosed with DID usually goes through three to five years of treatment, though a complex case may require six or more years of therapy to be stabilized and unite their personalities (Stephens, L. 2007). There is still controversy over the legitimacy of patients diagnosed with DID. 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Archaeologists suspect this was caused because of the treatments they had years ago such as â€Å"trepanning†. Trepanning is done nowadays as well to remove extra fluids from the brain, as for years ago doctors didRead MoreDissociative Identity Disorder ( Dissociative Personality )1254 Words   |  6 PagesDissociative identity disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder) is thought to be a complex mental condition that is likely brought on by numerous variables, including serious injury amid early adolescence generally compelling, repetitive physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment. The greater part of us have encountered mild dissociation, which resemble wandering off in fantasy land or losing all sense of direction at the time while taking a shot at an undertaking. In any