Researchers discovered a specific neurotransmitter that helps assign either positive or negative emotions to memories

Researchers discovered a specific neurotransmitter that helps assign either positive or negative emotions to memories

Without neurotensin signaling in the BLA, mice could no longer assign positive valence and didn’t learn to associate the first tone with a positive stimulus. Interestingly, the absence of neurotensin did not block negative valence. The animals instead became even better at negative valence, having a stronger association between the second tone and a negative stimulus.

Interestingly, stimulation of the angiotensin system may have antipsychotic effects (2020 review):

In the treatment of schizophrenia, agonism of the NTS system may serve as an antipsychotic on its own (Vadnie et al., 2016), or may serve to ameliorate the effects of a chronic antipsychotic regimen (Servonnet et al., 2017).

There’s even a tiny Russian study of Dilept, a peptide analogue of angiotensin, in 25 persons with schizotypal disorder.

Dilept demonstrated the unique spectrum of psychotropic activity: antipsychotic with stimulating action, favorable effect on negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. Treatment action was the most evident when dilept was used in the dose 200 mg/day. There was no evidence of any side-effects known to be typical for antipsychotics.

Although I would not hurry to believe a tiny Russian study.

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