5. Discuss the evidence for a biological basis of anxiety disorders (Be sure to provide at...

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Psychology

5. Discuss the evidence for a biological basis of anxietydisorders (Be sure to provide at least 3 separate pieces ofevidence). Does Generalized Anxiety disorder differ from any of theother anxiety disorders in terms of its biological features, if soin what ways?

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INTRODUCTION TO EMOTIONALPROCESSINGMood and anxiety disordersare characterized by a variety of neuroendocrine neurotransmitterand neuroanatomical disruptions Identifying the most functionallyrelevant differences is complicated by the high degree ofinterconnectivity between neurotransmitter andneuropeptidecontaining circuits in limbic brain stem and highercortical brain areas Furthermore a primary alteration in brainstructure or function or in neurotransmitter signaling may resultfrom environmental experiences and underlying geneticpredisposition such alterations can increase the risk forpsychopathologyFunctionalAnatomySymptoms of mood andanxiety disorders are thought to result in part from disruption inthe balance of activity in the emotional centers of the brainrather than in the higher cognitive centers The higher cognitivecenters of the brain reside in the frontal lobe the mostphylogenetically recent brain region The prefrontal frontal cortexPFC is responsible for executive functions such as planningdecision making predicting consequences for potential behaviorsand understanding and moderating social behaviorThe orbitofrontal cortexOFC codes information controls impulses and regulates mood Theventromedial PFC is involved in reward processing1 and in thevisceral response to emotions2 In the healthy brain these frontalcortical regions regulate impulses emotions and behavior viainhibitory topdown control of emotionalprocessingstructuresThe emotionalprocessingbrain structures historically are referred to as the limbicsystem Fig 1 The limbic cortex is part of the phylogeneticallyancient cortex It includes the insular cortex and cingulatecortex The limbic cortex integrates the sensory affective andcognitive components of pain and processes information regardingthe internal bodily state45 The hippocampus is another limbicsystem structure it has tonic inhibitory control over thehypothalamic stressresponse system and plays a role in negativefeedback for the hypothalamicpituitaryadrenal HPAaxisHippocampal volume andneurogenesis growth of new cells in this structure have beenimplicated in stress sensitivity and resiliency in relationship tomood and anxiety disorders An evolutionarily ancient limbic systemstructure the amygdala processes emotionally salient externalstimuli and initiates the appropriate behavioral response Theamygdala is responsible for the expression of fear and See Answer

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