Posted by bluedog on November 25, 2002, at 21:39:52
In reply to Anxiety Causes Brain Damage????, posted by Guy on November 25, 2002, at 12:42:06
> This article seems to say that constant untreated anxiety causes cell death in the brain (i.e brain damage). If so, I musn't have very much brain left! This is the first I've heard of this nasty business. Does anyone have any more info?
Here is an example of a study that could support the hypothesis that untreated anxiety could cause cell death (see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=1361523&form=6&db=m&Dopt=b )1: J Neurobiol 1992 Nov;23(9):1261-76 Related Articles, Cited in PMC, Books, LinkOut
Excitotoxic cell death.Choi DW.
Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
Excitotoxicity refers to the ability of glutamate or related excitatory amino acids to mediate the death of central neurons under certain conditions, for example, after intense exposure. Such excitotoxic neuronal death may contribute to the pathogenesis of brain or spinal cord injury associated with several human disease states. Excitotoxicity has substantial cellular specificity and, in most cases, is mediated by glutamate receptors. On average, NMDA receptors activation may be able to trigger lethal injury more rapidly than AMPA or kainate receptor activation, perhaps reflecting a greater ability to induce calcium influx and subsequent cellular calcium overload. It is possible that excitotoxic death may share some mechanisms with other forms of neuronal death.
Publication Types:
Review
Review, AcademicPMID: 1361523 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Here is another statement I found relating to this phenomenom (at the following link see http://kuhttp.cc.ku.edu/cwis/units/biol/bhawk00/neuro.html )"Despite its impressive design and function, the brain shows vulnerability to its own processes. In fact, excitatory circuits in the brain can, in essence, burn themselves out through overstimulation. These neurons die from what is called excitatory neurotoxicity, which is of great interest to Dr. Jang-Yen Wu, faculty member in the department of Molecular Biosciences." (At University of Kansas)
I am not that great at pure scientific research but I would recommend that you do searches under the following headings:-1. excitatory neurotoxicity
2. excitotoxicity
3. excitotoxic cell death
I think Larry Hoover may be able to help out in providing any reasearch that would either support or refute the above theory.bluedog
poster:bluedog
thread:128992
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021122/msgs/129320.html