Anxiety across adaptive and pathological states: from unpredictable shocks to anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders constitute the most common psychiatric diagnosis, but our understanding of their underlying neurobiology is still limited. Moreover, unlike many psychiatric symptoms, anxiety has clear ‘adaptive’ analogues. Anxiety evoked when walking through a shadowy park at night, for instance, can prime defensive reactions and promote harm avoidance. One possibility therefore is that the pathological and adaptive states of anxiety share common underlying neurobiology. To this end, I will present studies in humans using a) a model of adaptive anxiety that has been back translated from animal models – threat of unpredictable shock – and b) studies in patients with anxiety disorders. I will first present neuroimaging data implicating coupling between the amygdala and the medial wall of the cingulate and prefrontal cortex in maintaining both adaptive and pathological anxiety. Next, I will present data suggesting that this coupling can be modulated by components of both pharmacological and psychological treatments for anxiety disorders. Finally I will present data from a parallel line of work linking anxiety to increased reliance on Pavlovian inhibitory control of behaviour.
Date: 8 March 2016, 13:00
Venue: Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road OX1 3PS
Venue Details: C113 Weiskrantz
Speaker: Dr Oliver Robinson (UCL)
Organising department: Department of Experimental Psychology
Organiser contact email address: matthew.apps@psy.ox.ac.uk
Host: Dr Matthew Apps (University of Oxford)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Janice Young