The Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders: A Preliminary Investigation Essa

The Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders: A Preliminary Investigation When I first began my research for this paper, I was primarily interested in learning more about the role of serotonin in the treatment of anxiety disorders. While I did discover that serotonin is important, especially when it comes to understanding the latest drugs being prescribed by doctors to combat anxiety symptoms, I also learned that researchers are pursuing a number of other "leads" in investigating the neurobiology of anxiety disorders. There has been evidence suggesting that a particular gene, or genes, may be associated with the development of anxiety disorders (1). In addition, the circuitry of the amygdala, an area of the brain that regulates fear responses, is now being studied (2). First, I will briefly summarize my findings regarding serotonin, and then I will offer my own personal reaction. I will focus my response around Social Anxiety Disorder, one of a number of anxiety disorders that are diagnosed and treated today. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in America, affecting approximately 19 million adults (3). Although everyone experiences mild symptoms of anxiety at some point in their lives, those who suffer from an anxiety disorder have chronic and intense bouts of panic. They may fear or dread common social situations such as being out in public with a group of friends (4), or experience full-blown panic attacks (5) that make it impossible to go grocery shopping or to get to work in the morning. If untreated, anxiety disorders can severely impact the quality of one's life, and symptoms may grow even worse over time. There are several types of anxiety disorders, including Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disor... ...c internet resource http://www.algy.com/anxiety/files/barlow.html 6)Serotonin, from Department of Psychology, California State University http://www.csuchico.edu/psy/BioPsych/serotonin.html 7)"The Physiology of Panic Disorder, Part II", from Panic/Anxiety Disorders on about.com http://panicdisorder.about.com/health/panicdisorder/library/weekly/aa043097.htm 8)"Drug May Help in Rx, Education of Panic Disorder", from The Medical Post, January 29, 1996, found on Internet Mental Health http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p5m-pan1.html 9)Paxil, from SmithKline Beecham http://www.paxil.com/ Other Resources 1)The Neurobiology of Childhood Emotion: Anxiety, from The American Psychoanalyst, Vol. 32, No. 2 http://www.apsa.org/tap/anxiety.htm 2)The Neurobiology of Depression, from Scientific American, June 1998 http://www.sciam.com/missing.cfm The Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders: A Preliminary Investigation Essa The Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders: A Preliminary Investigation When I first began my research for this paper, I was primarily interested in learning more about the role of serotonin in the treatment of anxiety disorders. While I did discover that serotonin is important, especially when it comes to understanding the latest drugs being prescribed by doctors to combat anxiety symptoms, I also learned that researchers are pursuing a number of other "leads" in investigating the neurobiology of anxiety disorders. There has been evidence suggesting that a particular gene, or genes, may be associated with the development of anxiety disorders (1). In addition, the circuitry of the amygdala, an area of the brain that regulates fear responses, is now being studied (2). First, I will briefly summarize my findings regarding serotonin, and then I will offer my own personal reaction. I will focus my response around Social Anxiety Disorder, one of a number of anxiety disorders that are diagnosed and treated today. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in America, affecting approximately 19 million adults (3). Although everyone experiences mild symptoms of anxiety at some point in their lives, those who suffer from an anxiety disorder have chronic and intense bouts of panic. They may fear or dread common social situations such as being out in public with a group of friends (4), or experience full-blown panic attacks (5) that make it impossible to go grocery shopping or to get to work in the morning. If untreated, anxiety disorders can severely impact the quality of one's life, and symptoms may grow even worse over time. There are several types of anxiety disorders, including Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disor... ...c internet resource http://www.algy.com/anxiety/files/barlow.html 6)Serotonin, from Department of Psychology, California State University http://www.csuchico.edu/psy/BioPsych/serotonin.html 7)"The Physiology of Panic Disorder, Part II", from Panic/Anxiety Disorders on about.com http://panicdisorder.about.com/health/panicdisorder/library/weekly/aa043097.htm 8)"Drug May Help in Rx, Education of Panic Disorder", from The Medical Post, January 29, 1996, found on Internet Mental Health http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p5m-pan1.html 9)Paxil, from SmithKline Beecham http://www.paxil.com/ Other Resources 1)The Neurobiology of Childhood Emotion: Anxiety, from The American Psychoanalyst, Vol. 32, No. 2 http://www.apsa.org/tap/anxiety.htm 2)The Neurobiology of Depression, from Scientific American, June 1998 http://www.sciam.com/missing.cfm