US Researchers Shed Light on Mechanism for Anxiety

May 6, 2006

How Common Are Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in America: more than 19 million are affected by these debilitating illnesses each year.

Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. $46.6 billion in 1990 in direct and indirect costs, nearly one-third of the nation's total mental health bill of $148 billion.

US researchers made progress towards further understanding the mechanisms that underlie anxiety. Their findings suggest that events that occur during early infancy, rather than in adulthood, could predispose you to anxiety in later life.

Previous studies have shown that a type of serotonin receptor agonist called 5-HT1A has anxiety type properties.

Mice lacking the 5-HT1A receptor show increased anxiety-like behavior. Now, researchers have used a new technique, which enabled them to delete the 5-HT1A receptor gene at specific times and in specific brain locations, to study the mechanisms underlying anxiety.

The researchers created location-specific knockouts by breeding mice that expressed 5-HT1A receptors as normal in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, but lacked receptors in a portion of the hindbrain.

Mice that lacked 5-HT1A receptors in all brain regions showed increased anxiety-like behavior. However, the researchers found that selective restoration of the receptors in the forebrain normalized behavior. This finding will help to direct research to the forebrain and specifically to signaling pathways linked to the 5-HT1A receptor in these structures.

The researchers then found that eliminating forebrain 5-HT1A receptors in adult mice did not increase anxiety behavior.

However, knocked out the receptors during gestation in the forebrain of newborn mice led to increased anxiety-like behavior.

Previous studies have shown that early infancy might be important in determining the level of anxiety in later life, but much of the data are from behavioral and pharmacological studies, which reveal little about the mechanisms.

Nature 2002; 416: 396-400

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

If you suffer from anxiety you will certainly want to review my February article on this topic.

Science will always provide us with a greater understanding of the biochemical aberrations that result in disease.

Anxiety is one of the most common problems that we face, so additional information in this area is greatly appreciated.

Anxiety is an enormously crippling problem. Most of the people in this country who suffer with it do nothing, or they resort to drugs.

Unfortunately, the major focus of most research is to use this new information to develop newer drugs to treat the problem.

As most of you know, drugs are rarely ever the solution for treating the cause of depression, which is normally the result of some emotional stressor to the bioenergetic system.

Drugs do help, but it is obvious that they are no more than band-aids. Fortunately you don't have to rely on Paxil or Xanax for a solution. There are quick, simple and inexpensive solutions.

EFT is one that seems to work profoundly well. EFT tends to balance out the energetic disruptions that contribute to the anxiety. It is profoundly effective for this and usually is able to achieve significant benefit within several minutes.

For deep seated emotional anxieties you will want to see therapy with a trained therapists.

Later this year I hope to provide a U.S. and International directory of "certified" EFT practitioners. In the meantime you can visit Gary Craig’s site and use the list he has compiled. Many of the therapists allow you to have a brief free introductory session to see if continuing makes sense for you.

For mild anxieties many have found the video tapes of several workshops I recently compiled to be very helpful.