Astrocytic gamma-aminobutyric acid dysregulation as a therapeutic target for posttraumatic stress disorder.

ABSTRACT: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains a debilitating psychiatric condition with limited pharmacological treatment options. Identifying novel therapeutic targets is critical for addressing its unmet clinical needs. Through our comprehensive human clinical research, including both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, we revealed a compelling link between dysregulated prefrontal gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels and PTSD symptoms. Notably, elevated prefrontal GABA levels in PTSD patients are associated with impaired cerebral blood flow (CBF) and symptom severity, normalizing with recovery, highlighting GABA dysregulation as a key mechanism in the disorder. Postmortem and PTSD-like mouse models implicated monoamine oxidase B (MAOB)-dependent astrocytic GABA as a primary driver

SUBMITTER: Yoon S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12301456 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature