Anxiety and depression are currently classified as separate clinical syndromes despite considerable similarities in their symptoms, pathophysiological substrates and response to treatment interventions. An alternative hypothesis views anxiety and depression along a temporal continuum, a construct that the current research attempts to model in a preclinical setting. In experiment 1, socially rai...

While psychiatrists in the West are reaping the benefits of the surge in drug development during the past 10 years, psychiatrists in Japan are currently treating mental illness with a psychopharmacologic armamentarium that was considered state of the art in the United States in the early 1980s. None of the new generation antidepressants, antianxiety agents, or antipsychotics that have made grea...

As part of a WHO project on parasuicide, the medications used for self-poisoning in the Stockholm area were studied. The prescribing rates of the medications were estimated from an independent survey of prescriptions. Anxiolytics, hypnotics, and analgesics were the drugs most commonly used for parasuicide. Related to prescribing rates, antipsychotics and anxiolytics represented an increased ris...

BACKGROUND General Practitioners (GPs) in Thailand play an important role in treating psychiatric disorders since there is a shortage of psychiatrists in the country. Our aim was to examine GP's perception of psychiatric problems, drug treatment and service problems encountered in primary care settings. METHODS We distributed 1,193 postal questionnaires inquiring about psychiatric practices a...

The noradrenergic system is involved in the regulation of many physiological and psychological processes, including the modulation of mood. The alpha(2)-adrenergic receptors (alpha(2)-ARs) modulate norepinephrine release, as well as the release of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, and are therefore potential targets for antidepressant and anxiolytic drug development. The current studies we...

Recent research has suggested that cognitive disorders are a persistent trait of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Cognitive deficits in the course of schizophrenia may be due to the disease and/or drug therapy, especially with old-generation drugs. Several clinical experiments have indicated the beneficial effects of new-generation antipsychotics on cognitive processes in patients treate...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the pattern and utilisation of psychotropic drug prescriptions by psychiatrists in Kerman Province, Iran. METHODS The prescriptions of 27 psychiatrists were randomly selected from two Iranian public insurance organisations and were analysed for the mean number of drugs/prescriptions, drug category and the most frequently prescribed drug in each c...

Study objectives: To compare the regular use of psychotropic drugs in 1985 and 1996 in homes for the aged in Bergen, Norway and to study the relation between age, gender, mental impairment and certain behaviour traits and psychotropic drug use. Design: A point prevalence survey performed on two occasions in 1985 and 1996. Setting: All regularly used psychotropic drugs and demographic informatio...

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotomimetic compound of the Cannabis sativa, has been reported to have central therapeutic actions, such as antipsychotic and anxiolytic effects. We have recently reported that Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRs) present a deficit in social interaction that is ameliorated by atypical antipsychotics. In addition, SHRs present a hyperlocomotion that is reverted by ...

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major Cannabis sativa constituent, which does not cause the typical marijuana psychoactivity. However, it has been shown to be active in a numerous pharmacological assays, including mice tests for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and schizophrenia. In human trials the doses of CBD needed to achieve effects in anxiety and schizophrenia are high. We report...