European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Jul 2013
Psychiatrists' decision making between branded and generic drugs.
To study psychiatrists' decision making between generic and branded antipsychotics or antidepressants a hypothetical decision scenario involving decisions between branded and generic drugs was presented to a sample of German psychiatrists. Factors influencing this decision were identified using a regression analysis. n=410 Psychiatrists participated in the survey. ⋯ Additional predictors for choosing a generic drug were a higher share of outpatients, less negative attitudes toward generics and higher uncertainty tolerance. In conclusion, psychiatrists' decision making in choosing between branded or generic antidepressants or antipsychotics is to a large extent influenced by vague attitudes towards properties of generics and branded drugs as well as by "non-evidence based" factors such as uncertainty tolerance.
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Jul 2013
Social vs. environmental stress models of depression from a behavioural and neurochemical approach.
Major depression is a mental disorder often preceded by exposure to chronic stress or stressful life events. Recently, animal models based on social conflict such as chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) are proposed to be more relevant to stress-induced human psychopathology compared to environmental models like the chronic mild stress (CMS). However, while CMS reproduces specifically core depressive symptoms such as anhedonia and helplessness, CSDS studies rely on the analysis of stress-induced social avoidance, addressing different neuropsychiatric disorders. ⋯ While both models disrupted the excitatory inhibitory balance in the prefrontal cortex, CMS altered importantly this balance in the brainstem. Moreover, CSDS decreased dopamine in the prefrontal cortex and brainstem. We suggests that while depressive-like behaviours might be associated to altered aminoacid neurotransmission in cortical and brain stem areas, CSDS induced anxiety behaviours might be linked to specific alteration of dopaminergic pathways involved in rewarding processes.