Commentary Cellscience Reviews Vol 5 No 1 ISSN 1742-8130

The neurogenetics and neuropeptides of anxiety

Emerging evidences indicates that individual differences in our genetic makeup influence how we respond to stress and various challenges in our environment, and thereby contribute to individual differences in the development of neuropathological states such as anxiety or depressive disorders. Although anxiety and depression are complex constructs that involve multiple brain areas, converging lines of evidence implicate altered processing in cortico-limbic brain circuits in these disorders during stress that include an almond shaped nucleus in the temporal lobe called the amygdala. The structure is implicated in stress responses, but particularly in the process of emotional learning and assessing the salience of cues in our environment during fearful or threatening stimuli. New studies provide links between genetic polymorphisms that regulate the expression of a single protein named neuropeptide Y (NPY) that is released during stress and activation of the amygdala during emotional stressors. It has been suggested that NPY levels in humans are related to resiliency, ability to cope with stressful situations, and alcohol consumption, supporting the notion that NPY haplotypes may contribute to the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors underlying anxiety disorders and alcoholism. The combination of neurogenetic and brain imaging approaches suggest an association between NPY genetic polymorphisms that generate individual differences in the expression of the peptide, anxiety traits, and amygdala activation during stress challenges.

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