Childhood Anxiety Studied with Nervous Monkeys

Researchers have identified two parts of the brain linked to severe anxiety in young monkeys, and they suspect that these same brain areas are involved in the development of anxiety disorders in children. The anxiety-ridden monkeys showed heightened activity in both the amygdala, an almond-shaped brain structure associated with the processing of emotions, and the anterior hippocampus, a brain area associated with memory. If the same is true for humans, then monitoring those areas of children's brains could help experts understand anxiety disorders better and develop treatments for them. More...