Lowering Anxiety Levels in the Brain: Reduction of Ph Levels may Curb Anxiety

A recent study conducted by researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences discovered that lowering the brain's pH levels could essentially help treat anxiety disorders.

For the study, researchers worked on animals by increasing acidity in the brain's emotional control center that reduces anxiety. They found that these issues are often characterized by a lack of ability to control feelings involving the future, along with previous studies that have linked heightened activity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), a brain region that responsible for central roles in emotional behavior.

Researchers said they believe that many cells located in the basolateral amygdala contain acid-sensing ion channels that use ASIC1a, which responds to pH changes found in the environment outside of the cell.

Certain experiments have shown that activating the acid-sensing ion channels may decrease the acitivy to nearby cells as well as reduce anxiety-like behavior found in many animals. Researchers also believe that these findings may support previous evidence linked to ASIC1a and anxiety.

For the study, they soaked BLA cells in acidic solution in a laboratory setting and then measured the signals sent to nearby cells. This showed an increasing acidity of the pH that caused a decrease of solution activity in the BLA cells.

They also found that activating the ASIC1a impacted behavior that's typically seen in rats that display more anxiety-like behavior when they're given a drug that blocks ASIC1a into the BLA. The rats that received the drug increased the activity of ASIC1a channels and showed a reduction in anxiety-like behaviors.

"Our study emphasizes the importance of identifying and elucidating mechanisms involved in the regulation of brain function for the development of more efficacious therapies for treating psychiatric and neurological illnesses," said lead researcher Maria Braga, DDS, PhD, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, via a press release.

However, researchers conclude that more research is needed to better understand the roles that ASIC1a play in the brain. 

More information regarding the study can be found via the  Journal of Neuroscience.