Moral cognition about harm in anxiety disorders

Emotion has long been understood to play an important role in motivating moral beliefs and behavior. Recent work has shown that level of emotional arousal exerts a strong influence on decision-making in sacrificial moral dilemmas, with heightened levels of arousal associated with increased aversion to committing moral transgressions to maximize utilitarian outcomes. Patients with anxiety disorders share the common experience of pathologically heightened states of arousal, which generates the hypothesis that anxious patients would exhibit reduced proclivities to endorse utilitarian responses on such dilemmas. Limited extant work has shown mixed evidence, however, and most investigations have focused on only specific diagnostic groups, such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. We investigated a cohort of 95 patients from across the spectrum of anxiety disorders to test this hypothesis. Results showed no group differences between patients and controls on endorsement of utilitarian sacrificial action or on reported experience of emotionality during the experiment. Potential explanations for these null findings are explored.

Download Full-text

Overview of Diagnosis and Drug Treatments of Anxiety Disorders

CNS Spectrums ◽

10.1017/s1092852900009901 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 49-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 115

Author(s):

David J. Nutt

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Serotonin Reuptake ◽

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ◽

Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ◽

Selective Serotonin ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Drug Treatments ◽

The Common

AbstractAnxiety disorders are common and often disabling. They fall into five main categories: panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, each of which have characteristic symptoms and cognitions. All anxiety disorders respond to drugs and psychological treatments. This review will focus on drug treatments. Recent research has emphasized the value of antidepressants especially the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, benzodiazepines, and related sedative-like compounds. The common co-existence of depression with all of the anxiety disorders means that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are now generally considered to be the first-line treatments but the benzodiazepines have some utility especiaRy in promoting sleep and working acutely to reduce extreme distress.

Download Full-text

Neurosurgery for obsessive-compulsive disorder, other anxiety disorders and depressive disorders

10.1002/14651858.cd005560.pub2 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

David MB Christmas ◽

Ian Crombie ◽

Sam Eljamel ◽

Naomi Fineberg ◽

Bob MacVicar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder

Download Full-text

Sex Differences in Anxiety Disorders

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioral Endocrinology ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190649739.013.21 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 404-432

Author(s):

Teresa A. Piggott ◽

Alexandra N. Duran ◽

Isha Jalnapurkar ◽

Tyler Kimm ◽

Stephanie Linscheid ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Considerable Research ◽

Psychosocial Influences ◽

Psychiatric Conditions ◽

The Impact

Women are more likely than men to meet lifetime criteria for an anxiety disorder. Moreover, anxiety is a risk factor for the development of other psychiatric conditions, including major depression. Numerous studies have identified evidence of sex differences in anxiety disorders, and there is considerable research concerning factors that may contribute to vulnerability for anxiety in females. In addition to psychosocial influences, biological components such as the female reproductive hormone cycle have also been implicated. Although psychotropic medication is more likely to be prescribed to women, there is little controlled data available concerning sex differences in the efficacy and/or tolerability of pharmacotherapy in anxiety disorders. This chapter provides an overview of the impact of gender in the epidemiology, phenomenology, course, and treatment response in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder (PD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Download Full-text