Have you ever had heart palpitations, sweaty palms, racing thoughts or tension? Have you ever thought these anxiety symptoms could be due to a bacterial infection? Thanks to a recent grant awarded to a University researcher, these questions may be closer to being answered.
Earlier this month, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression gave one of its Young Investigator Awards to Asst. Psychology Prof. Ronald Gaykema.
Gaykema will receive a $60,000 grant to study whether bacterial infections can cause or increase anxiety-like symptoms. If this link is confirmed, it could improve anxiety treatment vastly.
NARSAD is a non-profit organization devoted to understanding and increasing awareness of psychiatric conditions. According to NARSAD, more than 25 million Americans suffer from psychiatric disorders.
Gaykema will work with Mark Lyte, a University of Minnesota professor and the director of Surgical Research Laboratories at the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation.
Last summer, the two conducted a preliminary investigation into brain regions in mice that may be activated by bacterial infections.
They discovered that activity increased in several brain regions in response to gastrointestinal infection with Campylobacter jejuni, a common food bacterium often responsible for food poisoning in humans.
With this grant, Gaykema plans to work with Lyte on expanding their initial research to pinpoint the exact neural connections responsible for transmitting signals from the immune system to the brain.
"I hope to confirm the link between [bacterial] infection and changes in activity within brain nuclei that correlate with increased anxiety," Gaykema said.
If this happens, researchers can explore treatments that will eliminate the bacteria, possibly eliminating the anxiety it may have caused.
"Eventually we would like to see if antibiotics may mitigate anxiety," said Asst. Psychology Prof. Lisa Goehler, wife of Gaykema. Goehler will assist the researchers in the upcoming study.
Previous research by Lyte in 1998 showed that a mild bacterial infection of the gastrointestinal tract in mice caused anxiety. In the same year, Gaykema identified a peripheral nerve pathway that conveys immune system signals to the brain. One of the goals of the upcoming research will be to conduct an in-depth study this pathway.
These findings may imply that humans, particularly those with mild anxiety conditions, may experience an increase in anxiety-like symptoms if infected with the bacterium.
NARSAD's Young Investigator Awards are given to scientists studying unique types of research early in their careers. "It is very difficult for researchers and scientists early in their careers to get research funding. NARSAD helps people get started in their research," NARSAD spokeswoman Robin Frank said.
Gaykema is one of 140 investigators worldwide who have received different types of NARSAD grants, worth a total of $8.5 million. Gaykema said he has been interested in psycho-neuro-immunology - the study of the interactions between the immune system and the brain - for nearly seven years. During this time there has been evidence showing the immune system to be a powerful modulator of the nervous system.
The research
Gaykema and Lyte will administer low doses of Campylobacter jejuni orally to mice. A second group of mice will not receive the bacterial pathogen, and will serve as the control to directly test the influence of the bacterial infection on the immune and mental state. The researchers will assess the behavior and physical health of the mice throughout the experiment.
"We attempt to identify the brain pathways of the mouse that convey and process information about infection, and which of these structures potentially alter levels of anxiety," Gaykema said.
To test for behavior changes, they will use a staining technique to visualize activated neurons. This will help them "identify the nerve cells that specifically respond to bacterial infection during the time frame in which behavioral changes occur," he said.
Both Gaykema and Lyte said they hope their two-year study will contribute to the development of new treatments to eliminate anxiety-causing bacterial infections.
"We will run additional studies in the coming two years to determine the particular brain nuclei, connections and neurotransmitters involved in the induction of the infection-related changes in the brain," Gaykema said.
Gaykema's research may shed some light on the different causes of anxiety.
"The causes of anxiety are multifaceted," said Asst. Psychiatric Medicine Prof. Donna Broshek, clinical neuropsychologist at the University Medical School. "Anxiety is an interplay between physiological arousal and cognitive thinking.
"People experience distress and they don't know why. They start becoming anxious because they can't understand why they feel distressed. They think they have an anxiety problem when they could instead have an infection of the immune system. Neuropyschology looks at brain-behavior relationships"
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