抑郁症自杀行为的神经生物学研究进展

抑郁症比普通人群有更高的自杀率,如何预防抑郁症自杀是临床工作中的一个重要课题。本文就抑郁症自杀发生的危险因素及神经影像、神经内分泌和分子遗传学等方面研究最新进展进行综述,旨在探讨抑郁症自杀行为的神经生物学机制,为抑郁症自杀行为的预防和进一步研究提供思路。     

Neurobiologic basis of craving for carbohydrates

ObjectivesThere is a relationship between emotional disorders, obesity, and craving for carbohydrates. This relationship complicates the success of treatments aimed at combatting obesity, which is considered to be the epidemic of the twenty-first century. We conducted a review of the neurobiologic basis for carbohydrate craving, with the hope that this understanding will enable the design of more efficient therapeutic strategies.MethodWe conducted a non-systematic literature search in PubMed using MeSH.ResultsResearch on the basis of carbohydrate craving is varied, but may be grouped into five main areas: the serotonergic system, palatability and hedonic response, the motivational system, stress response systems, and gene–environment interaction.ConclusionsThe models that integrate motivational systems with palatability and hedonic response studies are the ones that we believe can best explain both craving for carbohydrates and related addictive phenomena. Research has contributed to a greater understanding of the neurobiologic basis of carbohydrate craving. The latter, in turn, contributes to an understanding of the implications, challenges, and possible therapies that might be put in place to cope with this phenomenon.     

Impulsive action and impulsive choice across substance and behavioral addictions: Cause or consequence?

Substance use disorders are prevalent and debilitating. Certain behavioral syndromes (‘behavioral addictions’) characterized by repetitive habits, such as gambling disorder, stealing, shopping, and compulsive internet use, may share clinical, co-morbid, and neurobiological parallels with substance addictions. This review considers overlap between substance and behavioral addictions with a particular focus on impulsive action (inability to inhibit motor responses), and impulsive choice (preference for immediate smaller rewards to the detriment of long-term outcomes). We find that acute consumption of drugs with abuse potential is capable of modulating impulsive choice and action, although magnitude and direction of effect appear contingent on baseline function. Many lines of evidence, including findings from meta-analyses, show an association between chronic drug use and elevated impulsive choice and action. In some instances, elevated impulsive choice and action have been found to predate the development of substance use disorders, perhaps signifying their candidacy as objective vulnerability markers. Research in behavioral addictions is preliminary, and has mostly focused on impulsive action, finding this to be elevated versus controls, similar to that seen in chronic substance use disorders. Only a handful of imaging studies has explored the neural correlates of impulsive action and choice across these disorders. Key areas for future research are highlighted along with potential implications in terms of neurobiological models and treatment. In particular, future work should further explore whether the cognitive deficits identified are state or trait in nature: i.e. are evident before addiction perhaps signaling risk; or are a consequence of repetitive engagement in habitual behavior; and effects of novel agents known to modulate these cognitive abilities on various addictive disorders.     

A summary of the Proceedings of the Eleventh International Symposium on the Neurobiology and Neuroendocrinology of Aging,Bregenz, Austria,July 29–August 3, 2012

A summary of the Eleventh International Symposium on the Neurobiology and Neuroendocrinology of Aging that was held in July 29–August 3 in Bregenz, Austria, is presented. Sixteen of the speakers who presented at the conference submitted review papers covering the topic of their presentation as well as an overview of their respective fields and are included in this special issue. The abstracts from each poster presentation are also included at the end of the special issue.     

25 years after age-1: Genes,interventions and the revolution in aging research

This communication will briefly review more than 30 years of research on aging using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (“The Worm”) as carried out in the labs of Tom Johnson. We will highlight research directions initiated in the 1980's, which were exciting for those of us trying to turn over a new leaf in aging research. In this narrative, I will discuss primarily the science that I and my lab have been involved with for the last 30 years. This area has been fascinating to those studying the sociology of science as modern aging research has moved to replace the simplistic, poorly controlled and outright fictitious approaches seen in much of the previous aging research.