Goddard AW. Cortical and subcortical gamma amino acid butyric acid deficits in anxiety and stress disorders: Clinical implications.
World J Psychiatry 2016;
6:43-53. [PMID:
27014597 PMCID:
PMC4804267 DOI:
10.5498/wjp.v6.i1.43]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Revised: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxiety and stress disorders are a major public health issue. However, their pathophysiology is still unclear. The gamma amino acid butyric acid (GABA) neurochemical system has been strongly implicated in their pathogenesis and treatment by numerous preclinical and clinical studies, the most recent of which have been highlighted and critical review in this paper. Changes in cortical GABA appear related to normal personality styles and responses to stress. While there is accumulating animal and human neuroimaging evidence of cortical and subcortical GABA deficits across a number of anxiety conditions, a clear pattern of findings in specific brain regions for a given disorder is yet to emerge. Neuropsychiatric conditions with anxiety as a clinical feature may have GABA deficits as an underlying feature. Different classes of anxiolytic therapies support GABA function, and this may be an area in which newer GABA neuroimaging techniques could soon offer more personalized therapy. Novel GABAergic pharmacotherapies in development offer potential improvements over current therapies in reducing sedative and physiologic dependency effects, while offering rapid anxiolysis.
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