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The Role of Hormonal and Reproductive Status in the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Women

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Anxiety Disorders

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1191))

Abstract

Exposure therapy, a key treatment for anxiety disorders, can be modelled in the laboratory using Pavlovian fear extinction. Understanding the hormonal and neurobiological mechanisms underlying fear extinction in females, who are twice more likely than males to present with anxiety disorders, may aid in optimising exposure therapy outcomes in this population. This chapter will begin by discussing the role of the sex hormones, estradiol and progesterone, in fear extinction in females. We will also propose potential mechanisms by which these hormones may modulate fear extinction. The second half of this chapter will discuss the long-term hormonal, neurological and behavioural changes that arise from pregnancy and motherhood and how these changes may alter the features of fear extinction in females. Finally, we will discuss implications of this research for the treatment of anxiety disorders in women with and without prior reproductive experience.

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  1. School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Samantha Tang & Bronwyn Margaret Graham

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  1. Samantha Tang
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  2. Bronwyn Margaret Graham
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Correspondence to Samantha Tang .

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  1. College of Medicine, Korea University, Gyeonggido, Korea (Republic of)

    Yong-Ku Kim

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Tang, S., Graham, B.M. (2020). The Role of Hormonal and Reproductive Status in the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Women. In: Kim, YK. (eds) Anxiety Disorders. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1191. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9705-0_26

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