Decoding Anxiety: Study Reveals Brain’s Role in Behavioral Inhibition Risks

In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers in the United States used non-human primate anxious temperament models to investigate the molecular mechanisms and neural systems underlying behavioral inhibition in humans, which is one of the dispositional risks of anxiety disorders.

The resilience or risk for the development of anxiety disorders and psychopathology related to stress is often dependent on individual variations in anxious temperaments, which can be observed early in life. Behavioral inhibition, where the individual reacts hyperactively to threats, especially in novel or uncertain situations, is one of the temperaments that is well-established to be a risk factor for anxiety disorders. Behavioral inhibition in the early years significantly increases the risk of anxiety disorders, substance abuse, major depressive disorders, and other mental health disorders that are on the internalizing spectrum.

Since behavioral inhibition can often be observed in early childhood, interventions can be implemented early to steer the developmental trajectories of children exhibiting behavioral inhibition away from psychopathologies related to stress. Understanding the molecular mechanisms and neural pathways underlying behavioral inhibition is essential for developing these interventions. Non-human primates exhibit anxious temperament, which is remarkably similar to behavioral inhibition in humans, making non-human primate anxious temperament models an excellent system to understand the underlying mechanisms of these disorders.