Animal defense strategies and anxiety disorders

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are classifi ed according to symptoms, time course and therapeutic response. Concurrently, the experimental analysis of defensive behavior has identifi ed three strategies of defense that are shared by different animal species, triggered by situations of potential, distal and proximal predatory threat, respectively. The fi rst one consists of cautious exploration of the environment for risk assessment. The associated emotion is supposed to be anxiety and its pathology, Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The second is manifested by oriented escape or by behavioral inhibition, being related to normal fear and to Specifi c Phobias, as disorders. The third consists of disorganized flight or complete immobility, associated to dread and Panic Disorder. Among conspecifi c interactions lies a forth defense strategy, submission, that has been related to normal social anxiety (shyness) and to Social Anxiety Disorder. In turn, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder do not seem to be directly related to innate defense reactions. Such evolutionary approach offers a reliable theoretical framework for the study of the biological determinants of anxiety disorders, and a sound basis for psychiatric classifi cation.

Nuance and behavioral cogency: How the Visible Burrow System inspired the Stress-Alternatives Model and conceptualization of the continuum of anxiety

“…This has been replicated in Wales [60] and in Brazil [61–63] suggesting that culture is a relatively minor factor in the relationship between context and specific defenses, and further emphasizing the possibility that these relationships between context and behavior are features of the brain systems controlling defense patterns.…”

“…It continues to represent a strong model for evaluation of social stress effects. However, the more general analysis that the VBS provides for defensive behaviors has also been viewed as potentially applicable to number of psychiatric conditions [12, 61, 67]. Against this background of broad-based usefulness, the VBS has one important drawback: It is definitely not “high throughput”.…”

Video analysis of dogs with separation-related behaviors

“…Analysis of dog behavior on tape showed that they spent most of their time being oriented to the environment (21%) and this could be explained by the fact that anxiety elicits behaviors that enable the animal to approach the source of (perceived) threat (McNaughton and Corr, 2004) by increasing attention and stimulating risk assessment (Lang et al, 2000;Ohl et al, 2008). Furthermore, during risk assessment, non-defensive behavior, such as environmental exploration, self-grooming, feeding and social interaction are inhibited (Blanchard et al, 1998;Mastripieri et al, 1992;Shuhama et al, 2007), and the degree of suppression of these behaviors may be used as an indirect index of defensiveness or anxiety (Shuhama et al, 2007). Exploration can in fact be partially or completely inhibited by anxiety, therefore reduced exploration might represent an indirect measure of anxiety (Crawley and Goodwin, 1980;Ohl et al, 2008).…”

Exercise offers anxiolytic potential: A role for stress and brain noradrenergic-galaninergic mechanisms

“…Threat initiates defensive behaviors that are analogous across human and non-human animals (Blanchard et al, 2001a,b; Shuhama et al, 2007). Defensive behaviors are speculated to be perturbed in those with anxiety disorder, and accordingly are modified by anxiolytics (Archer, 1979; Griebel et al, 1995a,b; Marks, 1977; Treit et al, 1986; Treit et al, 1981).…”