The neural activities of people belonging to the high and low impulsiveness groups were monitored by a 3T MRI scanner while they were performing the Risky-Gains task. We demonstrated that a stronger activation in the insula-orbitofrontal-parietal regions was found in the high impulsiveness group compared to the low impulsiveness group. However, the levels of activation in the lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate

regions did not differ between the two groups. The findings suggest that the neural substrates of comprehension of cognitive and affective information associated with risk-taking decision making may vary according to the impulsiveness among healthy individuals. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights selleck products reserved.”
“Cocaine-primed reinstatement of drug seeking is associated with a decrease in extracellular GABA in the ventral pallidum (VP). The present study investigated the neural mechanism of this cocaine-induced decrease in VP GABA by determining if activity of the glutamatergic projection from the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) to the nucleus accumbens is required for the effect. Microdialysis was performed to measure extracellular GABA in the VP while simultaneously,

either a combination of the GABA agonists baclofen and muscimol was microinjected into the PFC, or the AMPA/kainate A-1210477 mouse glutamate receptor antagonist CNQX was microinjected Tariquidar chemical structure into the accumbens core. Inhibition of the PFC with GABA agonists and blockade of AMPA glutamate receptors in the accumbens core were both sufficient to prevent the cocaine-induced decrease in VP GABA, further implicating increased activity of the cortico-striato-pallidal circuit in relapse to drug seeking. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Atypical antipsychotics, such as olanzapine, have been reported to display anxiolytic properties as shown in several preclinical and clinical studies. Furthermore, several experimental evidences have shown that olanzapine reduces fear and anxiety in activated anxiety-like behavior

test such as Geller-Seifter test, ultrasonic vocalization test and stress-induced EtOH consumption. Here, we hypothesized that the anxiolytic action of olanzapine might be due to via an indirect activation of the gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA)-ergic system through 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha-pregnan-20-one [allopregnanolone (ALLO)], a potent neuroactive steroid that positively modulates the benzodiazepine-gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A))/benzodiazepine receptors complex. To address this question, we used a preclinical animal test to screen for novel anxiolytic compounds – the elevated plus-maze (EPM) – in basal condition and after 45 min restrain stress after acute or repeated (21 days) administration of olanzapine (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.