Citation

Veras AB, Nardi AE, Kahn JP. Med. Hypotheses 2013; 81(5): 792-796.

Affiliation

Laboratory of Panic and Respiration (LabPR/UFRJ), National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), Brazil. Electronic address: barcielaveras@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.mehy.2013.08.021

PMID

24053978

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Attachment theory offers an evolutionary explanation for the occurrence of panic states. The distance between a mother and child causes the sensation of fear. The experience of feared annihilation, an intense fear reaction (panic), is presented as a threat to the individual's cohesiveness, disrupting the mental representation of self-consciousness, specifically self-unity. Alterations in self-consciousness in schizophrenia are so important that they are mostly included among Kurt Schneider's first-ranked symptoms. HYPOTHESES: Based on clinical trials, case reports, and brain imaging and pharmacological studies, a paradigm is proposed to explain the relationship between panic anxiety and psychosis. CONCLUSION: The psychosis-anxiety pathophysiology explanation needs further investigation into the brain areas that integrate self-monitoring with fear areas, but it seems possible to note the importance of the anterior cingulate cortex.

Language: en