Currently, panic disorder (PD) is considered a mental disorder based on the assumptions that panic attacks (PAs) are "false alarms" that arise from abnormally sensitive defense systems in the central nervous system and that PD is treated with therapies specifically acting on anxiety or fear mechanisms. This article aims to propose an alternative perspective based on the results of some experime...

The efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD) is well-established; however, little is known about the underlying change processes of clinical improvement during therapy. According to cognitive theories, CBT for PD primarily works by changing catastrophic misinterpretations of bodily symptoms and panic attacks. However, panic self-efficac...

Forty-three patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and 44 patients with panic disorder (PD) were given a standardized interview about thoughts and images during times of anxiety. The two groups differed significantly regarding the ideational content of anxiety. GAD patients experienced more thoughts focusing on themes of mental catastrophes and other catastrophes when suffering from a...

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of psychological dependence on antidepressants in outpatients with panic disorder and elucidate demographic and clinical characteristics associated with this condition. Methods: This study was conducted in four outpatient clinics in Tokyo, Japan from April, 2014 to March, 2015. Subjects were eligible if they were out...

According to cognitive theories, panic patients are assumed to have an attentional bias toward bodily sensations. To date, there is only some indirect evidence of such a bias measured by an emotional Stroop task. Moreover, the content and disorder specificity of this bias is rather unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the specificity of attentional bias in patients with panic disor...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to survey the available literature on psychological development of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia [PD(A)] and its relationship with the neurobiology and the treatment of panic. METHODS Both a computerized (PubMed) and a manual search of the literature were performed. Only English papers published in peer-reviewed journals and referring to PD(A)...

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of psychological dependence on antidepressants in outpatients with panic disorder and elucidate demographic and clinical characteristics associated with this condition. Methods: This study was conducted in four outpatient clinics in Tokyo, Japan from April, 2014 to March, 2015. Subjects were eligible if they were out...

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of psychological dependence on antidepressants in outpatients with panic disorder and elucidate demographic and clinical characteristics associated with this condition. Methods: This study was conducted in four outpatient clinics in Tokyo, Japan from April, 2014 to March, 2015. Subjects were eligible if they were out...

Background. Anxiety and panic are known to be associated with bronchial asthma with variety of impact on clinical presentation, treatment outcome, comorbidities, quality of life, and functional disability in patients with asthma. This study aims to explore the pattern of panic symptoms, prevalence and severity of panic disorder (PD), quality of life, and disability in them. Methods. Sixty conse...

OBJECTIVE We aim to determine if a treatment with a dose of clonazepam--2 mg/day, for 6 weeks, blocks spontaneous panic attacks and the ones induced by the inhalation of 35% carbon dioxide (CO2) in panic disorder (PD) patients. The CO2 challenge-test may be a useful addition tool for measuring the pharmacological response during the initial phase (6 weeks) in the treatment of PD. METHOD Eight...