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e-Neuroforum
Published in: e-Neuroforum 3/2013

01-09-2013 | Review article

The interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety

Authors: Prof. Dr. N. Sachser, Prof. Dr. K.-P. Lesch

Published in: e-Neuroforum | Issue 3/2013

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Abstract

Individual differences in fear, anxiety, and the etiology of anxiety disorders develop during ontogeny. They are due to both genetic and environmental factors. With regard to the role of the environment, the organism is most susceptible to external influences during early development. Accordingly, stressors that impinge on the maternal organism during pregnancy evoke high levels of anxiety in the offspring later in life, as does an adverse early postnatal environment. However, anxiety-related circuits in the central nervous system retain their plasticity in adulthood, i.e., levels of anxiety can also be modified by experience across the entire successive lifespan. Notably, the effects of external stressors on the individual’s level of anxiety are modulated by genotype. Such genotype-by-environment interactions are particularly well studied in relation to genetic variants that modulate the function of the serotonin transporter. Thus, this review focuses on this candidate gene to elucidate the interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety.
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Metadata
Title
The interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety
Authors
Prof. Dr. N. Sachser
Prof. Dr. K.-P. Lesch
Publication date
01-09-2013
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
e-Neuroforum / Issue 3/2013
Electronic ISSN: 1868-856X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13295-013-0045-1

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