Genetic insights into the neurobiology of anxiety

Anxiety and fear are evolutionarily conserved emotions that increase the likeli-hood of an organism surviving threatening situations. Anxiety and vigilance states are regulated by neural networks involving multiple brain regions. In anx-iety disorders, this intricate regulatory system is disturbed, leading to excessive or prolonged anxiety or fear. Anxiety disorders have both genetic and environ-mental risk factors. Genetic research has the potential to identify specific genetic variants causally associated with specific phenotypes. In recent decades, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have revealed variants predisposing to neuropsychiatric disorders, suggesting novel neurobiological pathways in the etiology of these disorders. Here, we review recent human GWASs of anxiety dis -orders, and genetic studies of anxiety-like behavior in rodent models. These studies are paving the way for a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying anxiety disorders.