Journal
PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
Volume 32, Issue 3, Pages 739-743Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2007.11.023
Keywords
GABA; glutamate; levetiracetam; MRS; social anxiety
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: Abnormalities in brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate may be relevant to the underlying pathophysiology of anxiety disorders including social anxiety disorder (SAD). Methods: We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (pMRS) to examine whole brain and regional GABA, glutamate and glutamine in patients (N = 10) with SAD at baseline compared to a matched group of healthy controls (HC), and changes following 8 weeks of pharmacotherapy with levetiracetam. Results: For SAD subjects, there were significantly higher whole brain levels of glutamate and glutamine, though no significant differences in GABA. In the thalamus, glutamine was higher and GABA lower for SAD subjects. There was a significant reduction in thalamic glutamine with levetiracetam treatment. Conclusion: Our findings provide preliminary support for impaired GABAergic and overactive glutamatergic function in social anxiety disorder and the potential relevance of changes in these systems for the anxiolytic response to levetiracetam. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All fights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available