Some people experience great anxiety when they have to attend an event, and feel especially uncomfortable if they have to interact with strangers. Now, an innovative treatment to manage social disorders such as anxiety and extreme introversion developed by scientists from the Institute of Neurosciences of Alicante (IN-CSIC-UMH), a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) based on the use of natural hormones produced by the brain that regulate behavioural response in situations of social interaction could reduce or eliminate their discomfort, according to a study recently published in the journal Cell and backed by a patent.
What happens in the brains of those who suffer from social anxiety? Why do some children adapt easily to new relationships while others face them with apprehension and fear of separation from their parents? Scientists have identified that there is a physiological basis for these differences. During development, there is a natural transition from a preference for familiar figures to a search for new social interactions. However, in some cases, this change does not occur properly, leading to social disorders and avoidance behaviors that can lead to more serious problems.
A key hormone in the regulation of social interactions
The team led by Félix Leroy of the CSIC at the IN-CSIC-UMH discovered that corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), produced naturally in the brain, plays a crucial role in regulating social interactions. Their studies in animal models revealed that CRH, produced in the infralimbic cortex of the brain, sends signals that affect the rostral region of the lateral septum, known to regulate behaviors such as socialization and security seeking.
According to the scientists, this circuit helps reduce the preference for familiar relationships and promotes interest in new social experiences in adults. They observed that young mice, by increasing the density of infralimbic neurons that release CRH, showed a shift from a preference for familiar companions to new conspecifics.
Treatments based on natural molecules could offer an alternative to conventional behavioral therapies combined with antidepressants or anxiolytics
Using advanced techniques such as electrophysiology and optogenetics, the team demonstrated that CRH modulates these social preferences, which could open up new avenues for the treatment of disorders such as social anxiety. According to the IN-CSIC-UMH scientist, this approach could facilitate the creation of new social ties by modulating socializing preferences through the use of natural hormones.
This discovery represents a significant step towards the development of treatments based on natural molecules, currently in phase 1 preclinical trials. These treatments could offer an alternative to conventional behavioural therapies combined with antidepressants or anxiolytics, which often show partial efficacy and adverse side effects. In addition, they would be the first specific option to treat social anxiety disorders, avoiding the use of non-specific synthetic drugs.
Researchers are currently in negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to license this innovative technology, which could mark a milestone in the treatment of social anxiety disorders by avoiding the need to administer other synthetic drugs and their potential adverse effects, thus improving the quality of life of those affected.
Source: CSIC
