Anxiety disorders are associated with which neurotransmitter changes?

• A. Increased Norepinephrine and Decreased GABA
• B. Decreased Norepinephrine and Increased Dopamine
• C. Increased Serotonin and Acetylcholine
• D. Decreased Glutamate and Increased GABA

Answer: (A)

Anxiety disorders arise from an imbalance in brain arousal and inhibition. Norepinephrine ramps up alertness and sympathetic arousal, so when its activity is increased, you get the heightened vigilance and physical symptoms seen in anxiety. GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, normally checks excitatory signaling; when GABA activity is reduced, there’s less braking on neural circuits, allowing anxiety to intensify. Putting those together, increased norepinephrine with decreased GABA best explains the neurochemical environment linked to anxiety disorders.

If you consider the other patterns, they don’t line up as neatly with how anxiety presents. Lower norepinephrine would tend to dampen arousal rather than produce the hyperarousal typical of anxiety; changes in dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, or glutamate alone don’t capture the core imbalance of heightened arousal plus reduced inhibitory control that anxiety involves.