Mid Sweden University

miun.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Reduced serotonin synthesis and regional cerebral blood flow after anxiolytic treatment of social anxiety disorder
Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6355-660x
Section of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Section of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Show others and affiliations
2016 (English)In: European Neuropsychopharmacology, ISSN 0924-977X, E-ISSN 1873-7862, Vol. 26, no 11, p. 1775-1783, article id S0924-977X(16)30182-1Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with increased fear-related neural activity in the amygdala and we recently found enhanced serotonin synthesis rate in the same region. Anxiolytic agents like selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) antagonists reduce amygdala activity and may attenuate serotonin formation according to animal studies. Here, we examined the effects of SSRI pharmacotherapy, NK1R antagonism, and placebo on serotonin synthesis rate in relation to neural activity, measured as regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and symptom improvement in SAD. Eighteen SAD patients were randomized to receive daily double-blind treatment for six weeks either with the SSRI citalopram (n=6; 40mg), the NK1R antagonist GR205171 (n=6; 5mg; 4 weeks following 2 weeks of placebo), or placebo (n=6). Serotonin synthesis rate at rest and rCBF during stressful public speaking were assessed, before and after treatment, using positron emission tomography with the tracers [11C]5-hydroxytryptophan and [15O]water respectively. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-SR) indexed symptom severity. All groups exhibited attenuated amygdala serotonin synthesis rate after treatment, which was associated with reduced amygdala rCBF during public speaking and accompanied by symptom improvement. These results are consistent with the notion that serotonin in the amygdala exerts an anxiogenic influence and, conversely, that anxiolysis is achieved through decreased serotonin formation in the amygdala.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2016. Vol. 26, no 11, p. 1775-1783, article id S0924-977X(16)30182-1
Keywords [en]
5-HT, NK1, Positron emission tomography, SSRI, Social phobia
National Category
Neurosciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-38879DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2016.09.004ISI: 000387523600006PubMedID: 27642077Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84994036281OAI: oai:DiVA.org:miun-38879DiVA, id: diva2:1423361
Available from: 2020-04-14 Created: 2020-04-14 Last updated: 2020-05-08Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMedScopus

Authority records

Åhs, Fredrik

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Åhs, Fredrik
In the same journal
European Neuropsychopharmacology
Neurosciences

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 21 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf