Mental Health and Psychology Anxiety Disorders 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the 'fight-or-flight' response primarily involve physiologically?
- Parasympathetic nervous system activation
- Sympathetic nervous system activation (Correct answer)
- Prefrontal cortex inhibition only
- Increased serotonin release
Correct answer: Sympathetic nervous system activation
The fight-or-flight response is mediated by sympathetic nervous system activation, releasing adrenaline and preparing the body for action.
Question 2: Agoraphobia is best described as fear of:
- Open fields specifically
- Situations where escape may be difficult or help unavailable during panic (Correct answer)
- All outdoor environments
- Crowded indoor spaces only
Correct answer: Situations where escape may be difficult or help unavailable during panic
Agoraphobia involves fear and avoidance of situations where escaping might be difficult or embarrassing, or help might not be available if panic occurs.
Question 3: Which medication class is considered first-line pharmacotherapy for most anxiety disorders?
- Benzodiazepines
- Antipsychotics
- SSRIs/SNRIs (Correct answer)
- Beta-blockers
Correct answer: SSRIs/SNRIs
SSRIs and SNRIs are first-line pharmacological treatments for anxiety disorders due to their efficacy and favorable safety profile.
Question 4: The amygdala's role in anxiety disorders is best described as:
- Regulating sleep cycles
- Processing and storing fear memories (Correct answer)
- Producing serotonin
- Controlling voluntary movement
Correct answer: Processing and storing fear memories
The amygdala is central to fear conditioning and emotional memory, and hyperactivation of the amygdala is consistently found in anxiety disorders.
Question 5: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the behavioral treatment of choice for which disorder?
- GAD
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Correct answer)
- Specific Phobia
Correct answer: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
ERP is the gold-standard behavioral treatment for OCD, involving exposure to feared stimuli while refraining from compulsive rituals.
Question 6: What is 'interoceptive exposure' used to treat?
- Social fears
- Specific phobias
- Panic Disorder (Correct answer)
- Separation Anxiety
Correct answer: Panic Disorder
Interoceptive exposure deliberately induces feared physical sensations to help patients with Panic Disorder learn that those sensations are not dangerous.
Mental Health and Psychology Anxiety Disorders 2
What does the 'fight-or-flight' response primarily involve physiologically?