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High anxiety trait: A vulnerable phenotype for stress-induced depression.
Journal article

High anxiety trait: A vulnerable phenotype for stress-induced depression.

  • Weger M Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Sandi C Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: carmen.sandi@epfl.ch.
  • 2018-02-07
Published in:
  • Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. - 2018
Anxiety disorders
Brain
Depression
Glucocorticoids
HPA axis
Mitochondria
Neurotransmitter
Stress
Trait anxiety
Animals
Anxiety
Brain
Depression
Humans
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
Individuality
Personality
Phenotype
Pituitary-Adrenal System
Stress, Psychological
English A great deal of research aims to identify risk factors related to individual vulnerability to develop stress-induced psychopathologies. Here, we summarize evidence that point at anxiety trait as a significant contributor to inter-individual differences in stress-vulnerability. Specifically, we underscore high anxiety trait as a key vulnerability phenotype. Highly anxious individuals show both behavioral alterations and cognitive deficits, along with more reactive physiological stress responses. We discuss efforts and progress towards the identification of genetic variants and polygenetic scores that explain differences in trait anxiety and vulnerability to stress. We then summarize molecular alterations in the brain of individuals with high anxiety trait that can help explaining the increased vulnerability to stress of these individuals. Variation in such systems can act as risk factors, which in combination with severe/prolonged stressful life events can pave the way towards the development of depression. Our viewpoint implies that the consideration of high anxiety trait as a key vulnerability phenotype in stress research can support the overall aim to obtain improved or novel therapeutic approaches.
Language
  • English
Open access status
hybrid
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/151196
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