IL-6 knockout mice exhibit resistance to stress-induced development of depression-like behaviors.

Cytokine-dependent mechanisms in the CNS have been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Interleukin-6 is upregulated in depressed patients and dowregulated by antidepressants. It is, however, unknown whether IL-6 is involved in the pathogenesis of depression.

Disturbance in the neural circuitry underlying positive emotional processing in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An fMRI study.

This study was designed to investigate the circuitry underlying movie-induced positive emotional processing in subjects with chronic PTSD. Ten male subjects with chronic PTSD and ten matched controls were studied. In an fMRI-paradigm a sequence of a wellknown Walt Disney cartoon with positive emotional valence was shown.

Defining haplotype blocks and tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the human genome.

Recent studies suggest that the genome is organized into blocks of haplotypes, and efforts to create a genome-wide haplotype map of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are already underway. Haplotype blocks are defined algorithmically and to date several algorithms have been proposed. However, little is known about their relative performance in real data or about the impact of allele frequencies and parameter choices on the detection of haplotype blocks and the markers that tag them.

Sensory information processing in neuroleptic-naive first-episode schizophrenic patients: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Background: Schizophrenic disorders are thought to involve widespread abnormalities in information processing. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a simple and robust paradigm that involved auditory and visual activation to examine basic sensory input circuits. Our aim was to determine which stages of the input processing network are disturbed in first-episode schizophrenic patients.

Lateralized organization of the cerebellum in a silent verbal fluency task: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in healthy volunteers.

Functionally, the cerebellum is not only involved in motor control but is also thought to influence higher cognitive function including language. Anatomical data would suggest crossed reciprocal connections between the cerebellum and higher order cortical association areas. In the following study, one left- and one right-handed female volunteer underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging in a conventional block design.

Mice with targeted mutations of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors: models for depression and anxiety?

Impaired corticosteroid receptor signaling is a key mechanism in the pathogenesis of stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. Since in vivo expression and functional studies of corticosteroid receptors are not feasible in the human central nervous system, such analyses have to be done in animal models. Transgenic mice with mutations of corticosteroid receptors are promising tools, which allow us to investigate the role of these proteins in the pathogenesis of symptoms characteristic for depression and anxiety.

Cortical response to motor stimulation in neuroleptic-naive first episode schizophrenics.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the cortical response to motor stimulation in neuroleptic-naive first episode schizophrenics in comparison to matched controls using a high speed functional magnetic resonance imaging technique (fMRI). Twelve patients satisfying ICD 10 criteria (F20.0) for schizophrenia (paranoid subtype) as well as sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers participated in this study.

Antipsychotic drug effects on motor activation measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging in schizophrenic patients.

Brain function and laterality in schizophrenia were investigated by means of a simple motor task with a self-generated left-hand sequential finger opposition (SFO) using a whole-brain high-speed (100 ms per slice) functional imaging technique. Neuroleptic-naïve, acutely ill schizophrenic patients were compared to schizophrenic patients under stable neuroleptic medication and matched controls. The goal was to evaluate both the motor function in first-episode patients and possible effects of different neuroleptic treatments on functional MRI results.