The interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety

Abstract

Individual differences in fear, anxiety, and the etiology of anxiety disorders develop dur­ing ontogeny. They are due to both genet­ic and environmental factors. With regard to the role of the environment, the organism is most susceptible to external influences dur­ing early development. Accordingly, stressors that impinge on the maternal organism dur­ing pregnancy evoke high levels of anxiety in the offspring later in life, as does an adverse early postnatal environment. However, anxi­ety-related circuits in the central nervous sys­tem retain their plasticity in adulthood, i.e., levels of anxiety can also be modified by ex­perience across the entire successive lifespan. Notably, the effects of external stressors on the individual’s level of anxiety are modulat­ed by genotype. Such genotype-by-environ­ment interactions are particularly well stud­ied in relation to genetic variants that modu­late the function of the serotonin transport­er. Thus, this review focuses on this candidate gene to elucidate the interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety.

Anxiolytic and neuroprotective effects of the Traditional Chinese Medicinal formulation Dan-zhi-xiao-yao-san in a rat model of chronic stress

“…Anxiety-associated disorders constitute the largest class of human psychopathologies and represent a major public health problem (1,2). While the causes of these disorders largely remain elusive, interactions between environmental and genetic factors are thought to be crucial for their pathogenesis and progression (2,3). In addition, various complexities of the central nervous system make anxiety-associated disorders exceptionally difficult to diagnose and treat.…”