The Role of the Immune System in the Onset and Regulation of Anxiety Disorders

AnxietyAnxiety disorder, as a common mental health condition, significantly impacts the daily lives of patients and carries a substantial disease burden. Currently, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the onset of anxietyAnxiety disorders remain unclear. Extensive research in stressStress-related psychoneuroimmunology suggests a strong connection between the immune system and psychological activities, with the immune system playing a role in regulating brain function and behavior. Prolonged psychosocial stressStress has a wide-ranging impact on the immune system, affecting both the innate and adaptive immune systems, potentially leading to immune activation and resulting in long-term, low-grade chronic inflammatory responses. Psychological stressPsychological stress is a key contributing factor to the development of anxietyAnxiety, and, conversely, long-term anxietyAnxiety is also a contributing factor to sustaining chronic psychological stressPsychological stress. As a result, researchers have long been interested in investigating the mutual influence and interaction between anxietyAnxiety and the immune system. Previous animal model studies have shown that cytokines, adaptive immune responses, nitric oxide synthesis, and mast cell activity play significant roles in the generation and regulation of anxietyAnxiety-like behaviors. Both central nervous systemCentral nervous system immune responses and abnormalities in the peripheral immune system have been found to play crucial roles in the generation and regulation of anxietyAnxiety-like behaviors. Research on the gut-brain axisGut-brain axis suggests that immune system abnormalities may be one of the mechanisms through which the gut-brain axis regulates the onset of anxietyAnxiety.