Behavioral, neurochemical, anatomical and electrophysiological correlates of panic disorder: multiple transmitter interaction and neuropeptide colocalization

Neurochemical accounts of panic disorder focus on peripheral indices of central transmitter activity, hormonal correlates and therapeutic efficacy. Anxiogenic agents augment norepinephrine activity, some anxiolytics increase serotonin neurotransmission while benzodiazepines and antidepressants influence catecholamine, indoleamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid turnover in infrahuman subjects. Reliable correlates of central transmitter activity in panic disorder are not in evidence. While animal models of anxiety may not mirror the symptom profile of panic, neurobiological accounts of panic disorder fail to consider extensive central colocalization of neurotransmitter and putative neurotransmitters. In effect, transmitter release in major ascending and descending transmitter systems is modulated by variable neuropeptide interfacing. The behavioral concomitants of psychological disturbance likely follow from variable neurochemical release induced by stimuli as well as conditioning and sensitization. The functional role of receptor sites associated with multiple neurochemical systems may vary and the sensitivity and/or density of receptor sites may be modified. Accordingly, the behavioral and neurochemical concomitants of acute and chronic pathology may be fundamentally different from one another. The present review argues that the symptoms of panic disorder and the etiology of the illness must be evaluated against a background of genetic, organismic and experiential factors. Such variables presumably underlie the diverse behavioral symptoms associated with panic disorder and variations in the therapeutic efficacy of pharmacological treatment.