Preliminary Investigation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Social Anxiety Disorder That Integrates Compassion Meditation and Mindful Exposure.

Objectives: This study evaluated the feasibility and initial efficacy of a 12-week group mindfulness-based intervention tailored for persons with social anxiety disorder (MBI-SAD). The intervention includes elements of the standard mindfulness-based stress reduction program, explicit training in self-compassion aimed at cultivating a more accepting and kinder stance toward oneself, and use of exposure procedures to help participants practice responding mindfully to internal experiences evoked by feared social situations.

Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to the MBI-SAD (n = 21) or a waitlist (WL) (n = 18) control group.

Probing the constitutive activity among dopamine D1 and D5 receptors and their mutants.

Dopamine D1 and D5 receptors are prototypical cell-surface seven-transmembrane (TM) G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) mediating elevation of intracellular cAMP levels. The high level of constitutive activity of D5 receptor mediating intracellular cAMP production is one of the functional hallmarks distinguishing the closely related D1-like dopaminergic subtypes (D1 and D5). D1-like subtypes share over 80% identity within their TM regions.

Role of the extracellular amino terminus and first membrane-spanning helix of dopamine D1 and D5 receptors in shaping ligand selectivity and efficacy.

Transmembrane (TM) helices of human D1-like dopaminergic receptors (hD1R and hD5R) harbor the same residues implicated in ligand binding and activation of catecholamine G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Yet, hD1R and hD5R naturally display the distinct functional properties shared by wild type and constitutively active mutant GPCRs, respectively. Interestingly, we show in the present study that a class of synthetic phenylbenzazepine agonists containing a methyl on the azepine ring exhibited lower affinity for the more constitutively activated hD5R.