Anxiety, Depression and Fear Blog Posts

A critical view on the Forced swim test

The forced swim test (FST), a staple in depression research, has been under discussion for a while. What is the FST? How is it used? And why is it under discussion? Here we share our view on this topic

Robust and reliable: Measuring anxiety in the Elevated plus maze

Screening of anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze becomes more reliable with Ethovision XT combined with the standardization of testing parameters and common practices.

Taking opioids during pregnancy: short- and long-term consequences in rats

Women worldwide are suffering from opioid addiction. Many receive so-called opioid-maintenance therapy using bup, but consequences for both mother and baby are largely unknown.

Antidepressants during pregnancy: effects on offspring social behavior

Many depressed women struggle with this: can I use antidepressants during pregnancy? The lab of Jocelien Olivier studies the effects of SSRI's on offspring behavior in an animal model.

Depressed with a failing reward system: social stress disrupts brain waves

Chronic social stress has a huge impact on well-being. Gamma oscillations have been found to be an electrophysiological link between social stress and reward processing.

Is a unique calcium regulating mechanism a cause of Gulf War Illness?

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is potentially caused by organophosphate exposure. Through behavioral experiments, using a DFP rat model, researchers tested levetiracetam as a potential cure.

About unexpected results: predator odor excites mice

The temperature of the tail and eyes of rodents is indicative of their emotional state. What would be the effect of a specific predator cue?

How to characterize behavioral phenotypes in a behavioral analysis facility

Introducing the Behavioral Analysis Facility. Researchers evaluate the behavioral and functional activities of new pharmacological drugs using diverse functional tests. Learn more about their recent projects.

Freeze! A recent study on PTSD and the immune system

It is pretty well-known that stress and anxiety have an effect on the immune system. This can be a real problem, especially in psychiatric disorders.

Revealing the secret social role of the CA2 hippocampus

Aggressive behavior is adaptive for most species. But how is this aggressive behavior mediated in the brain? A study indicates that the hippocampus is a crucial neural component in mediating social recognition.

A new method to evaluate if dogs are suitable for IED bomb detection

Margaret Gruen and her colleagues recently investigated a new method to assess sound induced fear and anxiety in candidate IED-detection dogs – specifically, Labrador retrievers.

Zinc deficiency, depression and electrical signals in the brain

Depression has a dramatic effect on quality of life because it results in a persistent low mood that is accompanied by a low self-esteem and a loss of interest in things that give pleasure.