Anxiety Regulation: A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective

Abstract

This chapter examines the cognitive and neural mechanisms through which humans regulate anxiety over the course of the life span. We first define salient terms and concepts that are at the heart of our review and the models on which we rely to describe emotion and anxiety regulation, focusing on common manifestations of anxiety across development. We then review the literature on the regulation of anxiety and fear. In particular, we attend to the ways varied anxiety regulation strategies and their neural correlates vary across development. In the final section, we discuss contexts, both intrapersonal and interpersonal, that may facilitate or inhibit the use of different regulatory mechanisms and strategies among individuals experiencing anxiety across the life span.

Trait Impulsivity and the Externalizing Spectrum

“…This literature demonstrates that top-down cortical regulation of impulsivity is effected primarily through orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal inhibition of striatal (mesolimbic) activity and reactivity (see Heatherton 2011, Heatherton & Wagner 2011. In contrast, top-down cortical regulation of anxiety is effected primarily through lateral and medial prefrontal inhibition of amygdalar activity and reactivity (see Tone et al 2016). As might be surmised from the above discussion, cortical regulation of anxiety has moderating effects on trait impulsivity.…”

Emotion dysregulation and emerging psychopathology: A transdiagnostic, transdisciplinary perspective

“…This interpretation is consistent with literature linking top-down prefrontal and orbitofrontal control to executive function, self-regulation, and emotion regulation (e.g., Beauchaine, 2015; Etkin, Büchel, & Gross, 2015; Heatherton, 2011; Zelazo, 2015). Dozens of neuroimaging studies show increased activation in functional subdivisions of the prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and insular cortices during volitional downregulation of negative affect (see, e.g., Tone, Garn, & Pine, 2016; Zilverstand, Parvaz, & Goldstein, 2017).…”

Redefining the Endophenotype Concept to Accommodate Transdiagnostic Vulnerabilities and Etiological Complexity

“…Effortful regulation of appetitive emotions, such as wanting, is exerted through dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal inhibition of striatal activity and reactivity, whereas effortful regulation of aversive emotions, such as anxiety and fear, is exerted through lateral prefrontal inhibition of amygdalar activity and reactivity [ 62 , 63 ]. Those with externalizing disorders exhibit diminished functional connectivity between striatal and frontal structures [ 64 ], whereas depressed and anxious individuals exhibit altered functional connectivity between the amygdala and the ventrolateral PFC, the ventromedial PFC, and the anterior cingulate [ 65 ].…”