Electrical stimulation in the lateral hypothalamus in rats in the activity-based anorexia model - Laboratory investigation

Object. One quarter of patients with anorexia nervosa have a poor outcome and continue to suffer chronically or die. Electrical brain stimulation may be of therapeutic benefit in some of these patients; however, the brain target for inducing symptom relief is unknown. In this study, the authors evaluated the effects of acute and chronic electrical stimulation in the lateral hypothalamus on food intake, locomotor activity, and survival time in rats in an activity-based anorexia model.status: publishe

Contextual conditioning in rats as an animal model for generalized anxiety disorder

Animal models of psychiatric disorders are important translational tools for exploring new treatment options and gaining more insight into the disease. Thus far, there is no systematically validated animal model for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a severely impairing and difficult-to-treat disease. In this review, we propose contextual conditioning (CC) as an animal model for GAD. We argue that this model has sufficient face validity (there are several symptom similarities), predictive validity (it responds to clinically effective treatments), and construct validity (the underlying mechanisms are comparable). Although the refinement and validation of an animal model is a never-ending process, we want to give a concise overview of the currently available evidence. We suggest that the CC model might be a valuable preclinical tool to enhance the development of new treatment strategies and our understanding of GAD.status: publishe

Anodal tDCS over the Primary Motor Cortex Facilitates Long-Term Memory Formation Reflecting Use-Dependent Plasticity

<div><p>Previous research suggests that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) modulates NMDA receptor dependent processes that mediate synaptic plasticity. Here we test this proposal by applying anodal versus sham tDCS while subjects practiced to flex the thumb as fast as possible (ballistic movements). Repetitive practice of this task has been shown to result in performance improvements that reflect use-dependent plasticity resulting from NMDA receptor mediated, long-term potentiation (LTP)-like processes. Using a double-blind within-subject cross-over design, subjects (n=14) participated either in an anodal or a sham tDCS session which were at least 3 months apart. Sham or anodal tDCS (1 mA) was applied for 20 min during motor practice and retention was tested 30 min, 24 hours and one week later. All subjects improved performance during each of the two sessions (p < 0.001) and learning gains were similar. Our main result is that long term retention performance (i.e. 1 week after practice) was significantly better when practice was performed with anodal tDCS than with sham tDCS (p < 0.001). This effect was large (Cohen’s d=1.01) and all but one subject followed the group trend. Our data strongly suggest that anodal tDCS facilitates long-term memory formation reflecting use-dependent plasticity. Our results support the notion that anodal tDCS facilitates synaptic plasticity mediated by an LTP-like mechanism, which is in accordance with previous research.</p></div

Individual subject data.

<p>Individual subject data showing gains/savings measured during the retention test at day 7 compared to performance at the end of training (i.e. average performance at RT-D7-1…3 minus average performance at train8…10). Individuals exhibiting the same trend as the group average are shown in black. Only one subject (gray) exhibited better retention performance after practice with sham tDCS than after practice with anodal tDCS.</p

Rechargeable Stimulators in Deep Brain Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Prospective Interventional Cohort Study

From 1999 onwards, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been proposed as an alternative to capsulotomy in refractory cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although rechargeable implantable pulse generators (rIPGs) have been used extensively in DBS for movement disorders, there are no reports on rIPGs in patients with a psychiatric DBS indication, and even possible objections to their use.status: publishe