Anxiety is an emotional and physiological state characterized by apprehension, worry, and heightened arousal in anticipation of a perceived threat, accompanied by autonomic activation such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, and hypervigilance. As a normal adaptive response it mobilizes attention and prepares t…
Anxiety is an emotional and physiological state characterized by apprehension, worry, and heightened arousal in anticipation of a perceived threat, accompanied by autonomic activation such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, and hypervigilance. As a normal adaptive response it mobilizes attention and prepares the organism for action, but when excessive, persistent, or disproportionate to circumstances it becomes maladaptive and impairs functioning. Its neurobiology involves limbic and prefrontal circuits, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, together with neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems such as serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and cholecystokinin, and it frequently co-occurs with depression and chronic stress. Assessment relies on validated symptom scales and physiological markers such as cortisol, while management spans pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioural and other psychotherapies, and complementary or somatosensory interventions. The subject matter reflected in this journal's peer-reviewed research spans anxiety in clinical and community populations, including students, healthcare workers, and perinatal and neonatal contexts, its comorbidity with depression and burnout, cardiovascular and menopausal correlates, and a range of behavioural, cognitive, and biologically informed treatment approaches. This breadth situates anxiety as a core construct linking affective neuroscience, clinical psychology, and public-health concerns about mental wellbeing.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 45 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Anxiety, linking to each citing work.