Symptoms and syndromes of anxiety

Abstract

Abstract ‘Symptoms and syndromes of anxiety’ are presented here as reflecting states and traits, respectively. These reflect outputs from and sensitivities of specific brain areas in the defensive systems described in Chapter 11. The chapter discusses anxiolytic, panicolytic, and novel psychedelic drug action and the problems of treatment resistance. It presents a novel ‘double-hit’ hypothesis of trait interactions as a basis for disorder; and a typology for neurally based defensive disorders. Importantly, it explains why symptoms are not a good guide for syndromes, why comorbidity is the norm rather than an exception, and how cognition and memory contribute to emotional dysfunction. It concludes with some suggestions for the development of neurally related biomarkers for differential diagnosis.