Amygdala Deep Brain Stimulation is Superior to Paroxetine in a Rat Model of PTSDKeywords: traumatic brain injury, deep brain stimulation, amygdala, animal model, post-traumatic stress disorderInteractive Manuscript
Ask Questions of this Manuscript:
What is the background behind your study?
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a very debilitating disease refractory to current treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in up to 30 percent of patients, illustrating the need for new treatments of PTSD. Neuroimaging studies have shown increased activity of the amygdala of patients with PTSD.
What is the purpose of your study?
We demonstrate that amygdala deep brain stimulation (DBS) as novel treatment for PTSD is superior to current treatment with a commonly used SSRI, paroxetine, in a rat PTSD model.
Describe your patient group.
.
Describe what you did.
A PTSD model was created by subjecting rats to inescapable foot shocks in the presence of a conspicuous ball. Response to treatment was measured as a decreased burying behavior when presented with the same ball one and two weeks after the shocks. Rats where treated with either daily intraperitoneal paroxetine injections or amygdala DBS via an electrode implanted one week prior to shocks. Generalized anxiety was assessed using an elevated plus maze
Describe your main findings.
Animals treated with amygdala DBS showed less ball burying at two weeks relative to the animals treated with paroxetine. The animals treated with paroxetine, however, had a lower anxiety level compared to the DBS treated group.
Describe the main limitation of this study.
This is a rat study.
Describe your main conclusion.
While paroxetine did decrease the measured general anxiety level of the rats in this study, amygdala DBS was found to have a lower burying time in the PTSD model. This suggests that SSRIs only provide symptomatic relief of PTSD symptoms without addressing a cause.
Describe the importance of your findings and how they can be used by others.
DBS is a promising novel treatment of PTSD refractory to current treatment.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a very debilitating disease refractory to current treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in up to 30 percent of patients, illustrating the need for new treatments of PTSD. Neuroimaging studies have shown increased activity of the amygdala of patients with PTSD.
We demonstrate that amygdala deep brain stimulation (DBS) as novel treatment for PTSD is superior to current treatment with a commonly used SSRI, paroxetine, in a rat PTSD model.
.
A PTSD model was created by subjecting rats to inescapable foot shocks in the presence of a conspicuous ball. Response to treatment was measured as a decreased burying behavior when presented with the same ball one and two weeks after the shocks. Rats where treated with either daily intraperitoneal paroxetine injections or amygdala DBS via an electrode implanted one week prior to shocks. Generalized anxiety was assessed using an elevated plus maze
Animals treated with amygdala DBS showed less ball burying at two weeks relative to the animals treated with paroxetine. The animals treated with paroxetine, however, had a lower anxiety level compared to the DBS treated group.
This is a rat study.
While paroxetine did decrease the measured general anxiety level of the rats in this study, amygdala DBS was found to have a lower burying time in the PTSD model. This suggests that SSRIs only provide symptomatic relief of PTSD symptoms without addressing a cause.
DBS is a promising novel treatment of PTSD refractory to current treatment.
Project Roles:
