Breakthrough in Anxiety Treatment: Targeting a Specific Brain Circuit Without Cognitive Side Effects
Anxiety disorders affect over 300 million people worldwide, making them one of the most widespread mental health challenges today. While treatments such as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), benzodiazepines, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) exist, they often come with undesirable side effects such as cognitive impairment, drowsiness, dependency, or withdrawal symptoms.
Now, a groundbreaking study from Weill Cornell Medicine, published in Neuron, has identified a specific brain circuit that can be inhibited to reduce anxiety without affecting cognition. By using photopharmacology, researchers have mapped precise brain pathways that regulate anxiety, potentially revolutionizing future drug development for anxiety disorders.
This discovery suggests that highly target...