The molecular neuroimaging of anxiety disorders

This paper reviews the molecular neuroimaging of anxiety disorders, and attempts to put recent advances in the context of previous findings. Knowledge of the metabolic correlates of symptom severity and treatment response in obsessive-compulsive disorder has been significantly extended, particularly response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication. However, the first neuroreceptor studies of serotonin transporter availability in obsessive-compulsive disorder have proved inconclusive, and further studies are anticipated. Reduced 5-HT1A receptor binding has been reported in panic disorder. Recent findings have extended the knowledge of hippocampal abnormalities in post-traumatic stress disorder, and have highlighted the complexity of the association between cortisol and the hippocampus in this disorder.