An Exploration of Panic Disorder: The Differentiation Between fear and anxiety using Diazepam and Citalopram.

Conroy, Ashley

An Exploration of Panic Disorder: The Differentiation Between fear and anxiety using Diazepam and Citalopram.

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/15605

Author(s)

Conroy, Ashley

Date Issued

April 28, 2011

Abstract

Due to high prevalence rates of panic disorder, a better pharmacological treatment needs to be distinguished. Through the use of the principle of defensive direction, which Perkins et al. (2009, pg. 12617) defines by stating “Anxiety is elicited by threats requiring approach and fear by threats that need not be approached, but simply avoided,” and a conditioned fear paradigm via the avoidance schedule, eight male Sprague dawley rates were tested using a within subjects design. Citalopram (administered via cumulative dosing) and Diazepam (administered via the Latin square method) were used as the panicolytic and anxiolytic respectively. Results showed one significant main effect of dose, specifically between the baseline doses and high doses, but no differentiation between the two drugs. These data suggest looking into other ways to measure panicolytics and anxiolytics pre-clinically in rodent model.

First Reader(s)

Clark, Rodney D.