美國(guó)研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)人類和老鼠身上具有相同的“焦慮”相關(guān)基因，表明實(shí)驗(yàn)室動(dòng)物研究可以用來研究相關(guān)人類行為,。這項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果可幫助科學(xué)家開發(fā)出新的臨床藥物,，治療人類的恐懼癥和創(chuàng)傷后應(yīng)激障礙等焦慮癥相關(guān)疾病,。
據(jù)報(bào)道，研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)具有腦源性神經(jīng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)因子(BDNF)基因變異的人類和老鼠具有共同的行為反應(yīng),，即當(dāng)處于不良刺激環(huán)境中時(shí),，他們都很難去除掉和焦慮相關(guān)的反應(yīng)。
科學(xué)家在試驗(yàn)中用的老鼠是轉(zhuǎn)基因老鼠,，在它們的基因組中插入了一個(gè)人類的基因變異,。研究者還利用功能性磁共振成像技術(shù)（fMRI）對(duì)人類大腦進(jìn)行掃描，以便區(qū)別具有正?；蛘弋惓Ｉ窠?jīng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)因子的人群大腦功能的區(qū)別,。
他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了具有異常腦源性神經(jīng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)因子的人群中大腦負(fù)責(zé)了解信號(hào)安危所涉及額葉皮層和杏仁核的回路，發(fā)生了改變,，而具有正常腦源性神經(jīng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)因子的人群則沒有這種變化,。
精神病學(xué)和藥理學(xué)副教授弗朗西斯·S·李(Francis S. Lee)博士說：“通過研究腦源性神經(jīng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)因子(BDNF)基因，在未來可幫助開發(fā)出新的治療焦慮癥的臨床藥物,。”目前采用暴露療法來進(jìn)行焦慮,、恐懼和創(chuàng)傷后應(yīng)激障礙的治療，研制者指出,，暴露療法也有可能對(duì)BDNF基因異常的病人有用,，但是可能要花費(fèi)更長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1181886
A Genetic Variant BDNF Polymorphism Alters Extinction Learning in Both Mouse and Human
Fatima Soliman,1,2,* Charles E. Glatt,2 Kevin G. Bath,2 Liat Levita,1,2 Rebecca M. Jones,1,2 Siobhan S. Pattwell,2 Deqiang Jing,2 Nim Tottenham,1,2 Dima Amso,1,2 Leah Somerville,1,2 Henning U. Voss,3 Gary Glover,4 Douglas J. Ballon,3 Conor Liston,1,2 Theresa Teslovich,1,2 Tracey Van Kempen,1,2 Francis S. Lee,2 B. J. Casey1,2,*
Mouse models are useful for studying genes involved in behavior, but whether they are relevant for human behavior is unclear. Here, we identified parallel phenotypes in mice and humans resulting from a common single-nucleotide polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, which is involved in anxiety-related behavior. An inbred genetic knock-in mouse strain expressing the variant BDNF recapitulated the phenotypic effects of the human polymorphism. Both were impaired in extinguishing a conditioned fear response, which was paralleled by atypical frontoamygdala activity in humans. Thus, this variant BDNF allele may play a role in anxiety disorders showing impaired learning of cues that signal safety versus threat and in the efficacy of treatments that rely on extinction mechanisms, such as exposure therapy.
1 The Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
2 Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
3 Citigroup Biomedical Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
4 Lucas Center for Imaging, Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
