Exposure to stress can lead to either increased stress vulnerability or enhanced resiliency. Laboratory rats are a key tool in the exploration of basic biobehavioral processes underlying individual differences in the effect of stress on subsequent stressors' impact. The Occidental low (LoS) and high (HiS) saccharin-consuming rats, which differ in emotional reactivity, are useful in this effort....

Several variables, including age, are known to influence anxiety. Previous exposure to the elevated-plus maze (EPM) is known to modify emotional behaviour as retesting in the EPM at a standard age of 3 months increases open-arm avoidance and attenuates the effects of anxiolytic drugs. This study analysed whether similar results are obtained when older animals are subjected to these experimental...

The aim of the present study was to examine a potential anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like action of (+)-7-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin hydrobromide (7-OH-DPAT), a preferential dopamine D(3) receptor agonist, and N-{4-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]butyl}-2-naphthylcarboxamide (BP 897), a partial dopamine D(3) receptor agonist, in male Wistar rats. Diazepam or imipramine were used ...

Behavioral tests of animals in a controlled experimental setting provide a valuable tool to advance understanding of genotype-phenotype relations, and to study the effects of genetic and environmental manipulations. To optimally benefit from the increasing numbers of genetically engineered mice, reliable high-throughput methods for comprehensive behavioral phenotyping of mice lines have become ...

BACKGROUND Electromyography (EMG) is a useful test, but unfortunately also painful. We frequently encounter patients who worry about its painful nature, but tolerate it very well. OBJECTIVES We evaluated anxiety levels of patients referred for EMG to explore the possible correlating and contributing factors to high anxiety. METHODS A structured questionnaire, including the State-Trait Anxie...

Fosinopril, ramipril and losartan significantly decreased the duration (sec) of immobility in forced swim test and were comparable to amitriptyline. The duration of immobility were significantly decreased in fosinopril, ramipril and losartan in the tail suspension test and were comparable to amitriptyline. Only losartan significantly increased the rearing number of entries, time spent (sec) in ...

BACKGROUND In the elderly, little attention has been paid to anxiety both on a symptom dimension and as a disorder, as an independent risk factor for the incidence of activity limitations. METHODS In a community-dwelling cohort of 1581 persons aged 65+, the association between trait anxiety symptoms (Spielberger Trait, third highest tertile) and baseline DSM-IV anxiety disorder, and 7-year in...

Objective: Recent studies have begun to look at the impact of the economic crisis on mental health. This paper tries to summarize the most important findings with regard to effects of the economic crisis on mental health in Spain on the basis of a comprehensive literature review. Results: Most of the studies agree on the negative consequences on mental health of the Spanish economic crisis. A d...

OBJECTIVE To review the efficacy of anxiolytics (alprazolam and azapirones) in major depressive disorder (MDD) and that of antidepressants in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), thereby exploring the possible theoretical and clinical implications of this efficacy. METHOD A Medline literature search was performed for the period January 1980 to September 1997 of randomized, double-blind compari...

Prescribe Benzodiazepines? Not Me! Modern guidelines for psychopharmacologic treatment of anxiety disorders have evolved from recommending GABAergic (gammaaminobutryic acid) benzodiazepines to recommending serotonergic agents for first-line use. This trend, along with adverse publicity about the dependence potential of benzodiazepines, might lead one to suspect that benzodiazepines, once promin...