Anxiety medications may help patients return to work, but they often do little to address the underlying problem. With many pharmaceutical companies raising a white flag, a new approach to treating anxiety may be needed, one that addresses both unconscious and conscious responses to stimuli.
NEW YORK – When researchers want to evaluate the efficacy of new anxiety treatments, the traditional approach is to study how rats or mice behave in uncomfortable or stressful situations. Rodents shun brightly lit, open spaces, where, in the wild, they would become easy prey. So their natural tendency in a test apparatus is to find areas that are poorly illuminated or close to walls. The longer a medicated animal spends in areas in which it is unprotected, the more effective the drug is judged to be in treating anxiety.
NEW YORK – When researchers want to evaluate the efficacy of new anxiety treatments, the traditional approach is to study how rats or mice behave in uncomfortable or stressful situations. Rodents shun brightly lit, open spaces, where, in the wild, they would become easy prey. So their natural tendency in a test apparatus is to find areas that are poorly illuminated or close to walls. The longer a medicated animal spends in areas in which it is unprotected, the more effective the drug is judged to be in treating anxiety.