New York: At times, a simple hunch can help the humankind. A team of researchers had intuitions that understanding a different brain area could give more clues into how it processes anxiety.
Their instincts paid off. Using mouse models, the team has found a neural circuit that connects the lateral septum (LS) area of the brain with other structures in a manner that directly influences anxiety.
"Our study has identified a new neural circuit that plays a causal role in promoting anxiety states," said David Anderson, the Seymour Benzer professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
"Till date, we didn't know enough about how the brain processes anxiety. This study opens up a new line of investigation into the brain circuitry that controls anxiety," added Anderson.
"These neurons are actually inhibitory neurons, meaning that we would expect them to shut off other neurons in the brain," he explained.
The most surprising part of these findings is that the outputs from the LS, which were believed primarily to act as a brake on anxiety, actually increase anxiety.
Knowing the sign - positive or negative - of the effect of these cells on anxiety is a critical first step to understand what kind of drug one might want to develop to manipulate these cells or their molecular constituents.
"We hope these findings would help develop new, rational therapies for psychiatric disorders in near future," said Anderson.
The team would continue to map out this area of the brain in greater detail to understand more about its role in controlling stress-induced anxiety, said the study that appeared in the journal Cell.
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
Modi, Rahul in Kejriwal's list of 'corrupts' spending crores to create brandDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday named over 20 top politicians including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as "corrupt", and attacked him and BJP's Narendra Modi for spending crores on creating a "brand"..... More
Also Read: AAP a month later: Some plaudits, some brickbats
Congress MLA Asif accuses Kejriwal of betrayal on Batla house killingA furious Khan also asked the Congress to take back its critical legislative support to the month-old AAP government for what he said was a "betrayal" of a promise made by Kejriwal to Muslims in his area. ... More
The first comment was the sharp reaction from BJP leader Arun Jaitely, who apparently was picked over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark that his government is nearing to some solution to the Kashmir problem, without divulging ..... More
Sayema Sahar's Molestation Saga is Missed in the Glamour World
The 24×7 channels which keep crying for morality, truth and women's rights find hard to see their own faces in the mirror when someone shows them their distorted faces. There are several cases of on and off duty female journalists and off screen women being sexually harassed, abused and even physically attacked by their bosses or co-workers but these cases rarely come into the limelight...... More