Functional Neurocircuitry and Neuroimaging Studies of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety and fear serve adaptive functions and include wide-ranging subjective, physiological, behavioral, and cognitive responses. When these reactions are present chronically, and to a heightened degree that generalizes to signals beyond those that are objectively dangerous, one sees emergence of clinical anxiety disorders. Historically, anxiety disorders have been conceptualized as disruptions in fear processing, though more recent accounts also highlight changes in emotional reactivity beyond fear and deficits in emotion regulation. In this chapter, we review the neural circuitry relevant for fear processing and for emotional reactivity and regulation more broadly. We then review neuroimaging studies of social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. We highlight areas of overlap between disorders as well as disorder-specific perturbations.