SYMPOSIA

Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol: 21, Supplement: 2, 2011 - www.psikofarmakoloji.org
Poster Presentations
laboratory analyses of investigation were conducted in Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Yuzuncu Yil.
Results: We found that SOD and GSH-Px blood activities of patients were significantly lower, and ADA activities of patients were higher
than the healthy controls. All of the activities were not significantly different between respiratory and nocturnal subtypes. There were
no significant relationships between the duration of illness and Panic-Agoraphobia (PAS) scores of patients with nocturnal subtypes.
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) scores of the patients with nocturnal subtype
were significantly higher than the patients without nocturnal subtype. When examining the correlations between these variables and
enzyme levels, there was only a positive correlation between duration of disease and serum activities of GSH-Px.
Conclusion: In conclusion, SOD and GSH-Px ADA activities of the patients with PD are different from healthy subjects. Our results suggest
that oxidative and inflammatory processes may play role in pathophysiology of PD. These findings may support the idea that both
nocturnal and respiratory subtypes of PD have different symptom clusters of the same disease.
Key words: Panic disorder, subtypes, oxidative stress
Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology 2011;21(Suppl. 2):188-9
[PP-109] Ref. No: 106
The neural and cognitive effects of Bacopa Monniera: An fMRI study
Chris Neale 1 , Andrew Scholey 1 , Matthew Hughes 1 , Patrick Johnston 2
1 Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre (BPsyC), Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
2 Department of Psychology, University of York, York, England
E-mail: chrisneale@swin.edu.au
Objectives: Bacopa Monniera is an ayurvedic herbal medicine used in Indian medicine as a memory tonic. Animal models have shown
that it is an antioxidant (1), a memory enhancer (2), and an antidepressant (3). Human trials have had variable results, but spatial memory,
attention, and information processing tasks seem to be affected by Bacopa.
Given the improvements shown the RVIP task as a result of a 12 week Bacopa intervention, an fMRI methodology was employed to see
how Bacopa affects the brain during this task. The improved performance in these tasks suggests Bacopa may modulate task specific brain
regions. This investigation looks at the effects of Bacopa on the BOLD signal in the RVIP task over a 90 day intervention.
Method: The study utilized a double blind, placebo controlled, crossover design where all participants completed a 90 day course of
both Bacopa (300mg daily) and placebo during the study. The participants were aged between 40 and 65 years and in good health.
Interventions were separated by a 120 day washout period. Scans were undertaken on a 3T Siemens TRIO magnet before and after each
90 day intervention where participants would complete two runs of the task per scan visit.
The RVIP task is a block design which requires participants to respond when they see three odd or even numbers in a stream of numbers
presented at 100/minute. The control block requires a response when a zero is seen in the stream of numbers. Blocks last for 1 minute and
are repeated 3 times per condition in each of two experimental runs per scan.
Results: Data collection is ongoing at present. Baseline data show a bilateral increase in BOLD activation in the precentral gyrus and
precuneus with activation extending to the left inferior frontal gyrus (n=7, p=.005) when compared with control using a task greater than
baseline mask. Behavioural data suggest fewer ‘hits’ in the active task compared to control task.
Conclusions: The methodology of the study sets a gold standard for clinical trials using nutraceuticals and fMRI. Given the ongoing nature
of the study, conclusions are merely speculative at this point. However, the task looks to be a sensitive reflection of sustained attention.
We anticipate that the 90 day intervention of Bacopa will affect the BOLD signal in these particular regions of interest.
Key words: Bacopa monniera, fMRI, nutraceuticals, human cognition
References:
1. Bhattacharya et al (2000) Antioxidant Activity of Bacopa Monniera in Rat Frontal Cortex, Striatum and Hippocampus. Phytotherapy Research, 14, 174 – 179
2. Hota et al (2009) Bacopa monniera leaf extract ameliorates hypobaric hypoxia induced spatial memory impairment. Neurobiology of Disease, 34 (1) 23-39
3. Sairam et al (2001) Prophylactic and curative effects of Bacopa monniera in gastric ulcer models. Phytomedicine, 8 (6) 423-430
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