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Data from developmental psychology suggests a link between the growth of socio-emotional competences and the infant's sensitivity to the salience of social stimuli. The aim of the present study was to find evidence for this relationship in healthy adults. Thirty-five participants were recruited based on their score above the 85th or below the 15th percentile of the empathy quotient questionnaire (EQ, Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to compare neural responses to cues of social and non-social (monetary) reward. When compared to the high-EQ group, the low-EQ group showed reduced activity of the brain s reward system, specifically the right nucleus accumbens, in response to cues predictive of social reward (videos showing gestures of approval)-but increased activation in this area for monetary incentives. Our data provide evidence for a link between self-reported deficits in social proficiency and reduced sensitivity to the motivational salience of positive social stimuli.

Venlafaxine and O-desmethylvenlafaxine were found to penetrate well into CSF in patients, which indicated good availability of the drug in the brain, although the findings on CSF concentrations do not allow calculation of concentrations at the target structure within the brain. CSF/plasma ratios for venlafaxine and its metabolite were high probably due to low plasma protein binding. The poor correlation of dose to concentrations in body fluids and the highly significant correlation of plasma to CSF concentrations indicate that plasma concentration is a much better marker of drug concentration in brain than the dose.

Findings indicate a good ability of mirtazapine and normirtazapine to overcome the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier and suggest a high ability to enter the brain with sufficient drug levels at the target sites within the brain contributing to clinical efficacy.

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