The Neurobiology of Panic: A Chronic Stress Disorder

Summary & key facts

This review article looks at scientific evidence about panic disorder. It says panic disorder is often long-lasting and causes serious mental and physical health problems. The paper reviews risk factors such as genes, chronic stress, and temperament, and it summarizes brain imaging studies that describe panic as a disorder of a fear-related brain network. The authors also discuss how research frameworks for acute and chronic threat responses may apply to panic disorder, but they note that the exact biological causes are still not fully known.

Key facts:

• Panic disorder is described as often chronic and impairing.
• : The condition frequently leads to serious psychiatric and medical comorbidities (the review states this as a common outcome).
• The review identifies genetic vulnerability, chronic stress, and temperament as important risk factors discussed in recent evidence.
• Neuroimaging studies reviewed in the paper support viewing panic disorder as a ‘fear network’ disorder — meaning multiple brain regions involved in fear show altered function or connections.
• The authors discuss the National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) ideas about acute and chronic threat responses and consider how those constructs relate to the neurobiology of panic disorder.
• The paper emphasizes that, despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, the pathophysiology (biological mechanisms) of panic disorder is not yet fully understood.

Abstract

Panic disorder is an often chronic and impairing human anxiety syndrome, which frequently results in serious psychiatric and medical comorbidities. Although, to date, there have been many advances in the diagnosis and treatment of panic disorder, its pathophysiology still remains to be elucidated. In this review, recent evidence for a neurobiological basis of panic disorder is reviewed with particular attention to risk factors such as genetic vulnerability, chronic stress, and temperament. In addition, neuroimaging data are reviewed which provides support for the concept of panic disorder as a fear network disorder. The potential impact of the National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria constructs of acute and chronic threats responses and their implications for the neurobiology of panic disorder are also discussed.

Topics

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Mental Health Research Topics

Categories

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Anxiety Anxiety disorder Clinical psychology Computer science Computer security Neuroimaging Panic Panic disorder Psychiatry Psychology Vulnerability (computing)

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Panic disorder and phobias Panic