Shin Jung-Won, Park Hyunwoo, Cho Yoonju, Lee Suck, Yoon Jiwon, Maeng Sungho
Department of Gerontology, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, South Korea.
Center for Nutraceutical and Pharmaceutical Materials, Myongji University, Yongin, South Korea.
Front Psychiatry. 2017 May 31;8:97. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00097. eCollection 2017.
The therapeutic goal for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is to promote extinction and to prevent the relapse of fearful memories. Research has identified pharmacological treatments that may regulate the formation and extinction of fear memories, but not many reagents that block the relapse of extinguished fear are known. Radix Polygalae (RP) is an Asian herb used for sedation, and its ingredients have anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. As various neurological effects have been identified, we tested whether RP affects the relapse of fear. Freezing in response to a conditioned context and cues was used to measure the effects of RP in mice. In cohort 1 ( = 30), consolidation, extinction, and reinstatement were tested during the course of 18 days of treatment. In cohort 2 ( = 30), consolidation, extinction, and renewal were tested during 10 days of treatment. The consolidation, extinction, reinstatement, and possibly the renewal of context-induced freezing were inhibited due to the administration of RP in animal subjects. However, the effects of RP on the freezing responses of subjects elicited by conditioned auditory cues were less obvious. Because it effectively suppresses the consolidation of fear memories, RP may be used for primary and secondary prevention of symptoms in PTSD patients. Additionally, because it effectively suppresses the reinstatement and renewal of fear memories, RP may be applied for the prevention of fear relapse in PTSD patients who have undergone exposure therapy.
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的治疗目标是促进恐惧记忆的消退并防止其复发。研究已经确定了一些可能调节恐惧记忆形成和消退的药物治疗方法，但已知能够阻断消退恐惧复发的试剂并不多。远志是一种用于镇静的亚洲草药，其成分具有抗焦虑和抗抑郁特性。由于已经确定了其各种神经学作用，我们测试了远志是否会影响恐惧的复发。通过对条件化情境和线索的反应引起的僵住行为来测量远志对小鼠的影响。在队列1（n = 30）中，在为期18天的治疗过程中测试了记忆巩固、消退和恢复。在队列2（n = 30）中，在为期10天的治疗过程中测试了记忆巩固、消退和重现。由于给动物受试者施用远志，情境诱导的僵住行为的巩固、消退、恢复以及可能的重现均受到抑制。然而，远志对条件化听觉线索引起的受试者僵住反应的影响不太明显。由于远志能有效抑制恐惧记忆的巩固，它可用于PTSD患者症状的一级和二级预防。此外，由于远志能有效抑制恐惧记忆的恢复和重现，它可应用于已经接受暴露疗法的PTSD患者的恐惧复发预防。
