PSYC 2012 Lecture 37: 12/6/17
Document Summary
The amygdala is involved with transmitting fear signals to the hypothalamus and activated the. People with an anxiety disorder may have either elevated excitatory glutamatergic input to the amygdala gabaergic input. Amygdala neurons can also increase in dendritic branching for excitatory inputs in anxiety sufferers. Anxiolytic drugs like benzodiazepines increase gaba signaling and reduce amygdala activation of the hypothalamus. People with anxiety disorders have a greater reaction to stressors than normal people. Exposure to severe or chronic childhood stress results in death of hippocampal neurons due to high levels of cortisol as well as decreased dendritic branching of hippocampal neurons. Hippocampal neurons are critical for inactivating the stress response. Loss of hippocampal neurons and decreased dendritic branching decreases the ability of the hippocampus to turn off the stress response. (cid:862) tate(cid:863) depression - everyone gets depressed occasionally, often in association with a negative life event such as a death of a loved one or loss of a job.