학술논문

The brain decade in debate: II. Panic or anxiety? From animal models to a neurobiological basis
Document Type
article
Source
Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. February 2001 34(2)
Subject
panic
anxiety
fear
anxiolytics
5-HT
benzodiazepines
serotonin
amygdala
periaqueductal gray matter
animal models
Language
English
ISSN
0100-879X
Abstract
This article is a transcription of an electronic symposium sponsored by the Brazilian Society of Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC). Invited researchers from the European Union, North America and Brazil discussed two issues on anxiety, namely whether panic is a very intense anxiety or something else, and what aspects of clinical anxiety are reproduced by animal models. Concerning the first issue, most participants agreed that generalized anxiety and panic disorder are different on the basis of clinical manifestations, drug response and animal models. Also, underlying brain structures, neurotransmitter modulation and hormonal changes seem to involve important differences. It is also common knowledge that existing animal models generate different types of fear/anxiety. A challenge for future research is to establish a good correlation between animal models and nosological classification.