6B: Mood Disorder Anxiety

Question 1

Anxiety

Answer 1

diffuse, vague feelings of fear and apprehension; becomes a problem when it is
irrational, uncontrollable, and/or disruptive

Question 2

Phobia

Answer 2

an intense, irrational fear of a specific thing (e.g., object, event/situation, social
setting) that interferes with normal behavior; may develop through classical conditioning

Question 3

Anxiety disorder

Answer 3

a set of disorders in which the normal anxiety response is inappropriately provoked by homeostatic imbalance

Question 4

physiological causes of anxiety

Answer 4

-low levels of GABA
-role of amygdala (controls the fear response and processes fear related memories and stimulus salience)

Question 5

Treatment for anxiety

Answer 5

-cognitive behavioral therapy
-anti- depressants
- anti-anxiety medications
- beta-blockers

Question 6

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Answer 6

characterized by chronic anxiety, worry, and
tension independent of external cause for at least 6 months. Patients anticipate disaster
and are overly concerned about health issues, money, family problems, or difficulties at
work. Physical symptoms are also often present, including headaches, stomachaches,
muscle tension/trembling, irritability.

Question 7

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Answer 7

an anxiety disorder most commonly
characterized by obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions which attempt to neutralize the obsessions.

Question 8

symptoms of OCD

Answer 8

obsession- irrational, disturbing thoughts that intrude into consciousness
compulsion- irresistible, repetitive actions performed to alleviate obsessions

Question 9

possible cause of OCD

Answer 9

Caudate nucleus – component of the basal ganglia associated with initiation of learned, habitual motor activities; elevated activity is seen here in OCD; serotonin may reduce caudate nucleus activity, which is why SSRIs may help with OCD.

Question 10

Panic disorder

Answer 10

a disorder characterized by recurring panic attacks (feelings of helpless terror with high physical arousal) and fear of having them

Question 11

symptoms of panic disorder

Answer 11

palpitations, sweating/trembling/shaking, chest pain/feeling of
chocking, nausea/dizziness, fear of losing control/dying

Question 12

Agoraphobia

Answer 12

an anxiety disorder associated with panic disorder defined as a
morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from
which it is perceived to be difficult (or embarrassing) to escape. These situations
can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled
social conditions. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia may avoid public and/or
unfamiliar places.

Question 13

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Answer 13

an anxiety disorder in which patients have
nightmares, flashbacks, increased arousal (sleeplessness, hypervigilance), depression,
irritability, and avoidance of stimuli associated with a traumatic event such as war, rape,
or assault. A new diagnosis of complex PTSD is now being used to describe PSTD
symptoms that arise from an extended period of more mild/moderate stress, rather than
from one very high stress event as is typically associated with PTSD

Question 14

causes of PTSD

Answer 14

-Alterations in baseline stress hormone levels (cortisol): initial differences
in baseline cortisol levels may predispose individuals to PTSD
- Anatomical/functional differences in amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal
cortex
-Possibly maladaptive learning pathway to fear response through a hypersensitive, hyper-reactive and hyper-responsive hypothalamuspituitary-adrenal axis