Designer alterations to brain cells reduce anxious behavior in monkeys
Using a technique that could point to a new way to help people with severe anxiety and other treatment-resistant psychiatric illnesses, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison successfully dialed down anxious monkeys’ overactive response to a potential threat by installing a custom chemical switch in their brain cells.
About 30 percent of people with anxiety and mood disorders do not find sufficient relief in available treatments like medications and psychotherapy, leaving many to live with severe and chronic symptoms of anxiety and depression, and a significant risk of suicide. Some of them are helped by more invasive treatment options including deep brain stimulation, in which small electrodes are implanted deep into the brain.
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Designer alterations to brain cells reduce anxious behavior in monkeys, hold promise for new treatments
Using a technique that could point to a new way to help people with severe anxiety and other treatment-resistant psychiatric illnesses, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison successfully dialed down anxious monkeys’ overactive response to a potential threat by installing a custom chemical switch in their brain cells.
About 30 percent of people with anxiety and mood disorders do not find sufficient relief in available treatments like medications and psychotherapy, leaving many to live with severe and chronic symptoms of anxiety and depression, and a significant risk of suicide. Some of them are helped by more invasive treatment options including deep brain stimulation, in which small electrodes are implanted deep into the brain.