Anxiety is a future-oriented affective state characterized by apprehensive anticipation of threat, accompanied by physiological arousal, hypervigilance, and avoidance behavior. When this response becomes excessive, persistent, and functionally impairing it constitutes an anxiety disorder, a category that includes ge…
Anxiety is a future-oriented affective state characterized by apprehensive anticipation of threat, accompanied by physiological arousal, hypervigilance, and avoidance behavior. When this response becomes excessive, persistent, and functionally impairing it constitutes an anxiety disorder, a category that includes generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and phobias. The underlying neurobiology centers on dysregulated processing within the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus, and on signaling through neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems such as GABA, serotonin, noradrenaline, and cholecystokinin, alongside hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation reflected in cortisol responses to stress. Anxiety frequently co-occurs with depression and with chronic medical and neurological conditions, and it can be provoked or amplified by pain, hormonal transitions, and acute stressors. Assessment relies on validated psychometric instruments, while management spans pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioral and psychological interventions, neuromodulation, and complementary approaches. Research in this area examines anxiety across diverse populations and contexts, including students, perinatal and menopausal women, healthcare workers, and individuals with multiple sclerosis or experiences of early-life pain, as well as candidate mechanisms and treatment strategies ranging from somatosensory stimulation and photobiomodulation to psychoeducational and behavioral interventions. The journal publishes peer-reviewed research addressing the mechanisms, measurement, comorbidity, and treatment of anxiety.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 43 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.