[Method of testing drug therapies for anxiety. Methodology of controlled trials]

Controlled trials of anxiolytics follow the same methodological principles as those of other psychotropic drugs. They nevertheless present a number of particular difficulties, necessitating specific approaches or additional precautions. They are indispensable in drug trials with anxiolytics, but do not resolve all the problems arising in this field; as a consequence, there is a need for new and original orientations in the study of anxiolytics.