Anxiety Disorders

Cross Frequency Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (CF-tACS) with mobile EEG for the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial 2025 Award: $199,624 While medications and psychotherapy can be very effective for anxiety, many people with anxiety have side effects with medications, don’t have access to therapy, or don’t get full relief from symptoms even with treatment. In this study, we are testing an exciting new technology that utilizes low-level electric currents to gently modify brain activity to treat anxiety. We will investigate the effectiveness of this new treatment in treating anxiety, and we will record daily EEG measurements to see which changes in brain activity lead to the most improvement. Need/Problem: Anxiety disorders are quite common, and many people with anxiety disorders do not get to a point of remission from symptoms and/or have side effects [...]

Novel Paradigm for Modulating Emotion Regulation with Non-invasive Brain Stimulation in Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2024 Award: $103,931 Our aim is to explore an innovative approach to addressing Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and its treatment limitations. Our proposed method integrates real-life scenario simulations and comprehensive brain stimulation with alternating current stimulation, designed to reflect daily experiences for individuals with GAD. This holistic approach aims to increase accessibility across diverse populations, bridging the gap between controlled study conditions and real-world complexities. Additionally, incorporating simultaneous functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) allows for tracking mechanistic specificity, providing valuable insights into individual neural responses during treatment. Our study aims to generate essential data for large-scale grant applications, contributing to the development of more effective interventions for GAD and advancing anxiety disorder treatments. Need/Problem: Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Grant Summary: This grant proposal addresses [...]

Anxiety and emotion in parent-child dyads: A multimodal study 2022 Award: $92,932 Anxiety is on the rise, is associated with altered emotional processing, and can emerge in preschool, a time when children rely on parents or caregivers to process emotional and handle worry. Developing successful treatments for childhood anxiety will depend on understanding the mechanisms that underlie it and parent-child dyads. This project is an important first step to better understand and treat anxiety disorders, by measuring brain and behavioral aspects of anxiety and emotion in both parents and children. Need/Problem: Anxiety disorders (AD) can emerge in early childhood and predict later symptoms and psychopathology. Emotional processing is an important core aspect of ADs – an underlying fear, worry, or distress. In preschool children, some worry is typical as they develop brain networks to process emotional information. This development [...]

A Translational Approach to Identify Biomarkers of COVID-19-related Social Stress in Healthcare Workers 2020 Award: $85,000 Psychosocial stress is ubiquitous in modern societies and - especially when excessive or persistent - can lead to several psychiatric disorders, including major depressive, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety disorders. As we have all observed in the news recently, one of the most vulnerable populations in the COVID-19 pandemic is our healthcare providers. Our research will integrate human studies and preclinical mouse models of social stress to understand how persistent social stress affects this population. Need/Problem: Stress-related psychiatric disorders, including major depressive, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety disorders, are the most common mental illnesses in the United States. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, both the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) predict that the number of people suffering from [...]

Dissecting the Neural Circuits of Hyperarousal States in Psychiatry 2019 Award: $200,000 Anxiety is a complex state consisting of cognitive, emotional, and physiological components driven by a network across multiple brain regions. In this project, we plan on studying the neural circuits that regulate the hyperarousal state that often precedes the cognitive and emotional changes. Establishing the precise neural circuits involved in hyperarousal is critical to design novel therapeutic interventions for anxiety disorders. Need/Problem: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the United States, but we still poorly understand how specific neural circuits in the brain are affected during these disorders. Anxiety disorders are often characterized by an amplified arousal response to anxiogenic stimuli (hyperarousal). Grant Summary: Using pre-clinical mouse models we will use state-of-the-art microscopy techniques to visualize and record the activity of hundreds of individual [...]