Predisposed to anxiety – a translational approach
This collaboration will apply conditioned fear-potentiated startle cross-species to study a genetic predisposition to anxiety. Deficits in fear conditioning lead to a state of chronic anxiety in humans. Similar deficits in serotonin-transporter (5-HTT) knock out animals suggest a role of 5-HTT in adaptive conditioning. We will test the hypothesis that genetic variation in the 5-HTT underlies individual differences in fear conditioning in humans. In addition, we will determine whether deficits in conditioning also lead to a chronic state of anxiety in the 5-HTTKO animals using a pharmacological approach.