2008 Press Releases
27.05.2008
Dr John F. Cryan, Senior Lecturer in School of Pharmacy, UCC and Principal Investigator in the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC), has recently been awarded key research funding under the European Commission's Framework Programme 7 (FP7) Health initiative.
The funding will go towards the study of the molecular basis of anxiety disorders and how perturbations in early life prime the brain for altered emotionality in adulthood. The project, titled DEVANX (Serotonin and GABAB receptors in anxiety: from developmental risk factors to treatment), is undertaken by a pan-European consortium of seven different laboratories involving leading investigators from Inserm, Paris, France; Universidad Pablo de Olavidem Seville, Spain, The European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Monterotondo, Italy, Universität Basel, Basel, Switzerland, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim Germany and Cryan's group at UCC.
Anxiety is a mental and physiological state of the body that is elicited in response to threatening or potentially threatening stimuli. Although anxiety is a normal part of everyday life, exaggerated or inappropriate anxiety can severely disrupt normal life activities and, if persistent, can be classified as an anxiety disorder. Although anxiolytic drugs exist, many people with anxiety disorders are poorly treated with these agents and the identification of new therapeutic targets is a major goal of pharmaceutical research in this field. The chemicals GABA and serotonin are key players in the control of anxiety states but the precise molecular basis for their action has remained elusive. New findings, brought about by members of this consortium, including Dr Cryan's group are radically changing our views on the neurobiological action of these two transmitters and is the focus of the project. The discovery of a developmental role of serotonin (5-HT) in the genesis of anxiety disorders, and the finding of interactions between 5-HT-related genes and environmental risk factors has been very important. Secondly, the realisation that metabotropic GABAB receptors play a critical role in mediating the anxiolytic effects of GABA, gives a starting point for the conception and design of novel therapeutic approaches. Finally, recent evidence point to strong reciprocal interactions between the two systems. Thus, researchers that are at the forefront of these research domains will build on and extend these promising new findings. The project brings specialists of development, neuronal plasticity, neurobehaviour, neuropharmacology and mouse genetics together. The proposal will bring new knowledge on the neurobiological basis of anxiety, and open up novel therapeutic approaches in anxiety disorders. For more information see http://devanx.vitamib.com/
Welcoming the funding, Dr Cryan said "From UCC's perspective the research grant has much significance. It reinforces the fact that Neuroscience is a thriving and expanding research area in UCC exemplified by the recently formed Cork Neuroscience (CNS) group", http://www.ucc.ie/en/cns/ This FP7 grant which focuses on the neurodevelopmental aspects of stress-related disorders synergises with a complementary research programme of Dr Cryan in the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (http://www.ucc.ie/apc), where, together with Professor Ted Dinan, his team are studying the long-term consequences of early life stress on the brain-gut axis. Dr Cryan concluded: “Moreover, given that the grant is also focused on developing novel treatment modalities for anxiety, it confirms the commitment of the School of Pharmacy toward applied basic and translational research.”
Picture: Dr John Cryan
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