| |
|
|
|
| |
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsQuestions and AnswersBlog EntriesTaking a Mindful Path Through ShynessYou vs. Procrastination: 1 (Mindful) Secret to Winning the BattleFreedom from Your Anxious MindAre You Wired to Worry? 3 Common Mistakes People Make When Working with InsomniaThere is No Such Thing as ADDWhat You Need to Know to Help Heal Insomnia Overcoming School Anxiety: An Interview with Diane Peters MayerHoardingAn Interview with Gail Steketee, PhD, on Hoarding and OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)In a Falling Economy, Trust Your Gut Or Reason? Avoidant Personality Disorder and Social PhobiaDo You Have a Shy Bladder? UpdatedWhat Every Parent Should Know About School Anxiety5 Steps to Emotional Freedom: Placebo or Panacea?Couples Therapy for Robert and Julia (Romeo and Juliet)Anxiety as a Defense Against Depression: Part 7Can Anxiety Be a Good Thing? Anxiety as a Defense Against Depression: Part 6Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 5Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 4Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 3Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: Part 2Why People Might Use Anxiety to Avoid Depression: What We Can Learn From a Wartime ExperienceI Blush, Therefore I...Feeling Stuck with Anxiety or Depression? Try this Today! Catastrophizing Controlling Your Life: 3 Steps to Break FreeNew A&E Series Explores Anxiety DisordersRejection, Why Does It Hurt So Much?An Interview with Steven Phillipson, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Anxiety, Stress and Depresion in Light of the RecessionTherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder – building a life instead of digging up the past?Young Yet Sad: The Social PhobicHow trying to avoid your fear, anxiety, and panic keeps it knocking on your doorCatastrophizing Illness: Mind and Body RevisitedAn Interview with Victoria Lemle Beckner, Ph.D. on Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Small Penis Syndrome: Characteristics and Self-Help Treatment SuggestionsSocial Phobia and Self Concept and the BrainAn Interview with Frank Ochberg, MD on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)TIME OUT! 2 Things you can practice today to stave off anxiety and depression in this hectic time. Shy Bladder Syndrome (Paruresis): Getting HelpAn Interview with Edna Foa, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Going to the Dentist: Fears and PhobiasStuff, Why Is It So Difficult to Part With?An Interview with Michelle Craske, Ph.D. on Anxiety Disorders Research and TreatmentBlenophobia, The Fear of NeedlesDo You Have a Shy Bladder?Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Plagued by DoubtPost Traumatic Stress Disorder and Iraqi VeteransPsychotherapy and Murder in New York: Should We All Stay Home?An Interview with David H. Barlow Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic DisordersWorried SickAn Interview with Richard Heimberg, Ph.D. on Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder Research and TreatmentTreating PTSD, Part TwoNational Stress Øut WeekHalloween...Fear With A PurposePTSD treatment readiness and the looming Iraq war PTSD bubbleParent's Anxiety Disorders And Children's AdjustmentAn Anxiety Disorder: Small Penis SyndromeCollege and Mental Health Problems, They Go TogetherSeparation Anxiety DisorderRecognizing emotion gets harder or easier depending on your moodThe Story of A Psychiatric Service Dog TeamEarly verbal abuse results in more adult depressionOn Being A PerfectionistChronic cortisol exposure causes mood disordersTreating PTSD with Beta-BlockersDavid Beckham has OCDCortisol May Be an Anxiety TreatmentGenetic contribution to OCD may have been identified VideosLinksBook ReviewsSelf-Help Groups |
| | | |
Serotonin Transporter Gene Tied to Social Anxiety(HealthDay News)
by -- Kevin McKeever
Updated: Jan 14th 2009 
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A mutation in a gene that transports the brain chemical serotonin may shape social behavior in humans, according to a new study on rhesus macaque monkeys. Humans tend to have either two long (L/L) or two short (S/S) versions of the serotonin transporter gene, which is known to regulate emotion. Previous research has shown that people who instead have one short and one long (S/L) version -- which is more common in people of Asian descent -- tend to exhibit more social anxiety and similar behaviors. Rhesus macaque monkeys are the only other primates with the genetic trait. Duke University researchers, in a series of experiments discussed in the Jan. 13 online issue of PLoS One, found monkeys with the S/L versions spent less time looking other monkeys in the face and eyes, were less likely to take risks, and less likely to want to look at a picture of a high-status male monkey than those with the L/L versions. "For both human and non-human primates, faces and eyes are a rich source of social information, and it's well-established that both humans and macaques tend to direct visual attention to faces, especially the eye region," Michael Platt, an associate professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and an expert in neuroeconomics, said in a news release issued by the school. "Rhesus monkeys live in highly despotic societies and convey social rank information by making threats and showing dominant and submissive behaviors." The findings could give researchers a new model to help in studying autism, social anxiety and schizophrenia. "Altogether, our data show that genetic variation in serotonin function does contribute to social reward and punishment in macaques, and thus shapes social behavior in both humans and rhesus macaques," lead author Karli Watson, of the Duke Department of Neurobiology, said in the same news release. "This study confirms rhesus monkeys can serve as a model of what goes on in our brains, even in the case of social behavior." More information The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about social anxiety disorder. This article: Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. |
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
