The overlap between anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder
1University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
|October 22, 2015
Summary
Anxiety disorders share common symptoms and treatments due to overlapping distress, genetics, and neurobiology. Investigating these shared traits can lead to better treatments for conditions like generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Anxiety disorders encompass generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia, and panic disorder.
- These conditions often share symptoms like anxiety and dysphoria, alongside similar pharmacological treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the commonalities underlying various anxiety disorders.
- To identify shared genetic predispositions and neurobiological factors contributing to anxiety disorders.
- To investigate intermediate phenotypes for improved treatment development.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing twin studies for genetic evidence.
- Behavioral and functional brain imaging techniques to investigate emotional and cognitive biases.
- Analysis of shared neurobiology across anxiety disorders.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests shared genetic factors, primarily from twin studies.
- Common neurobiological underpinnings and emotional/cognitive biases are identifiable.
- Anxiety disorders may share universal dimensions of distress or negative affectivity.
Conclusions:
- Shared genetic and neurobiological factors contribute to the overlap in anxiety disorders.
- Investigating intermediate phenotypes, such as cognitive bias, is crucial.
- This research can inform the development of novel pharmacological and psychological treatments for anxiety.
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