Abstract
Several pieces of evidence, including those originated from our group in Ribeirão Preto in the last 30 years, indicate that typical (glutamate, GABA and serotonin) and atypical (nitric oxide, NO) neurotransmitters are involved in anxiety, mood, psychotic and related motor disorders. More recently the endocannabinoid system was also related to these disorders. The main goal of the present project is to extend these observations, studying possible brain mechanisms of these behavioral changes. In addition, we will also investigate other factors such as hormones (cortisol and oxitocine) and cannabidiol that can also modify those systems. To achieve this goal a multidisciplinary approach will be employed that will include well established behavioral techniques for experiments in animals, healthy volunteers and patients, as well as the more recent approaches of brain image and molecular biology. The project will contribute to the following specific problems: 1. role of typical (serotonin, glutamate) and atypical (NO, cannabinoids) neurotransmitters on behavioral responses to aversive stimuli such as predator exposure or animals models of anxiety (predator odor exposure, elevated plus or T mazes, Vogel conflict test, conditioned emotional response) in specific brain regions (medial prefrontal cortex, amygdaloid complex, hippocampal formation, premammilary nucleus of the hypothalamus, dorsolateral periaqueductal gray, raphe nuclei and cuneiform nucleus); 2. role of atypical neurotransmitters in behavioral, cardiovascular and hippocampal gene expression changes induced by stress; 3. Role of NO in modulation of basal ganglia dopaminergic neurotransmission and sensory-motor gating; 4. Clinical effects of interference on serotonin- or GABA-mediated neurotransmission in human anxiety model and emotional processing; 5. Effects of hormonal interference on serotonin-mediated neurotransmission in human responses to aversive events; 6. Role of NO- and glutamate-mediated neurotransmission in psychosis; 7. Effects of cannabidiol in animal models of anxiety and depression and in bipolar patients. (AU)
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