Psychophysiological treatment outcomes: Corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 receptor antagonist increases inhibition of fear-potentiated startle in PTSD patients.

ABSTRACT: After exposure to a traumatic event, a subset of people develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One of the key deficits in PTSD is regulation of fear, and impaired inhibition of fear-potentiated startle (FPS) has been identified as a potential physiological biomarker specific to PTSD. As part of a larger clinical trial, this study investigated the effects of a CRF receptor 1 antagonist, GSK561679, on inhibition of fear-potentiated startle during a conditional discrimination fear-conditioning paradigm, termed AX+/BX-. Prior research using this paradigm has demonstrated deficits in inhibition of conditioned fear in several PTSD populations. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial compared fear inhibition between female PTSD participants taking 350 mg/day GSK561

SUBMITTER: Jovanovic T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6710166 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature