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Credit: Elsevier
Philadelphia, January 26, 2021 - Addiction, or substance use disorder (SUD), is a complex neurological condition that includes drug-seeking behavior among other cognitive, emotional and behavioral features. Synaptic plasticity, or changes in the way neurons communicate with one another, drives these addictive behaviors. These lasting brain changes are at the crux of why addiction is so hard to treat.
Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, now shows that players in the extracellular environment - not just at neuronal interfaces - contribute to addiction plasticity. Neurons in a brain area called the nucleus accumbens are known to undergo addiction-related plasticity. Specifically, changes at synapses of medium spiny neurons (MSN), which sense the neurotransmitter dopamine, have been associated with drug-seeking and extinction behaviors.
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that is distinguished by obsession, habits and rituals, such as, for example, things that are always done when opening a door. These behaviours are often carried out to accomplish a “just-right feeling”.
The disorder is commonly comorbid with other conditions, including Tourette syndrome. OCD varies widely from person to person, and research continues to develop.
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It is estimated that two to three per cent of the population has OCD. About a third of those with the condition don’t experience benefits from traditional therapy or medicines, according to a 2020 study published in
Food allergies might be caused by overactive quality control system in our bodies, experts say
25 Jan 2021 - 15:52
By Erin Blakemore | The Washington Post
Our bodies are designed to absorb healthy substances and reject poisonous ones to keep us healthy.
But what if the system that directs our body to accept or deny substances goes too far?
A group of immunobiologists thinks an overactive food quality control system might cause food allergies. In new research published in the journal Cell, they hypothesize that allergic immunity should be considered one of a group of defensive mechanisms the body has evolved to ward off noxious substances such as poison or spoiled food.
Chemicals in dishwashing detergent, food preservatives and synthetic textiles could be overexciting the immune system, making it sensitive to nonthreatening foods.
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NSAIDs Might Exacerbate orSuppressCOVID-19Depending on Timing, Mouse Study Suggests
New research shows that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduced both antibody and inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. The study appears this week in the
Journal of Virology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology.
The research is important because “NSAIDs are arguably the most commonly used anti-inflammatory medications,” said principal investigator Craig B. Wilen, Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Immunology, Yale University School of Medicine.
In addition to taking NSAIDs for chronic conditions such as arthritis, people take them “for shorter periods of time during infections, and [during] acute inflammation as experienced with COVID-19, and for side effects from vaccination, such as soreness, fever, and malaise,” said Dr. Wilen. “Our work suggests that the NSAID meloxicam dampens the immune response to SARS-C