Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is common, with a lifetime prevalence in the United States of up to 5%. The disorder occurs nearly twice as often in women and tends to manifest in…
Social Anxiety disorder
DSM-IV criteria stipulate that this condition contributes to significant functional impairment (for example, in work or relationships) or distress. Of note, the individual recognizes that the fear is excessive or…
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
The prevalence of GAD in the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) was 1.6% for current GAD (defined as a 6-month period of anxiety that continued in the 30 days before the…
Bipolar Disorder
Depressive episodes consist of either depressed mood or anhedonia with five or more of the following concomitant symptoms: (1) significant decrease or increase in sleep, and/or (2) appetite, (3) low…
Major Depressive Disorder
Subtypes of depression may be defined by the presence of psychotic features (delusions, hallucinations), catatonia (motor disturbances, such as immobility or agitation, stereotyped movements, mutism), melancholy (weight loss, insomnia, morning…
Postpartum Depression
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e., DSM-IV) does not list postpartum psychiatric disorders separately but instead uses a specifier, for example, “with postpartum onset” to describe any…
Treatment of Epilepsy: Resective Surgery
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjunctive treatment for certain types of intractable epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression. VNS uses an implanted stimulator that sends electric impulses to the left vagus…
Limbic System
The amygdala is connected extensively to the hypothalamus and other limbic structures. It receives input from widespread sensory cortical regions and paralimbic structures (piriform cortex, entorhinal cortex, and parahippocampal cortex…
Neurobiology of Epilepsy (Continued)
The cellular events that underlie the ability of NRT neurons to shift between an oscillatory and tonic firing mode are the low-threshold (T) Ca2+ spikes that are present in thalamocortical…
Treatment of Epilepsy: Preoperative Evaluation
Drugs targeting the Na+ channel reduce the likelihood of a seizure by either increasing the amount of time the channel stays in the inactive state or by altering the shape…
