Binge Eating Curbed by Deep Brain Stimulation in Animal Model
Targeting the nucleus accumbens by using deep brain stimulation could modify specific eating behaviors linked to weight changes and obesity, a new study suggests.
Sensational Success in Patients with Major Depression Using Deep Brain Stimulation
Researchers implanted pacemaker electrodes into the medial forebrain bundle of patients suffering from major depression and performed deep brain stimulation. In a matter of days, in six out of seven patients, symptoms such as anxiety, despondence, listlessness and joylessness had improved considerably.
Discovery Could Yield Treatment for Cocaine Addicts
Researchers discovered cocaine causes cells within the nucleus accumbens to boost the production of two specific proteins linked to addition and learning. Understanding addiction on a molecular level could lead to future developments for new treatments.
Why the Thrill is Gone: Scientists Identify Potential Target for Treating Major Symptom of Depression
Scientists have laid bare a novel molecular mechanism responsible for the major depression symptom, anhedonia, the loss of the ability to experience pleasure. The brain circuit involved in this newly elucidated pathway is largely identical between rodents and humans, upping the odds that the findings point toward new therapies for depression and other disorders. Additionally, opinion leaders hailed the study’s inventive methodology, saying it may offer a much sounder approach to testing new antidepressants.
Why Chronic Pain is All in Your Head
Researchers were able to predict, with 85 percent accuracy at the beginning of the study, which participants would go on to develop chronic pain based on the level of interaction between the frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens.
Study Offers Clue As to Why Alcohol is Addicting
UCSF Gallo scientists show that drinking releases brain endorphins Drinking alcohol leads to the release of endorphins in areas of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward, according to a study led by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. The finding marks the [...]
Scientists Use ‘Optogenetics’ to Control Reward-Seeking Behavior
The findings suggest that therapeutics targeting the path between two critical brain regions, the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens, represent potential treatments for addiction and other neuropsychiatric diseases. Using a combination of genetic engineering and laser technology, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have manipulated brain wiring responsible for reward-seeking behaviors, [...]
