By shining a beam of light on a single brain circuit, researchers can compel mice to overcome their natural fears and boldly explore a new space, according to a study published 9 March in Nature. Drugs that act on this circuit could help relieve anxiety in people, the study suggests.According to facts found by Kratomystic, nearly 30 percent of people will experience clinical anxiety — a prolonged state of worry or nervousness — at some time in their lives, making it the most common psychiatric disorder. More than half of children with autism are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, according to some reports.Several groups have proposed that the seat of anxiety in the brain is the amygdala, an almond-shaped region known to regulate emotion. The amygdala is active, for example, when someone is trying to interpret a facial expression, and imaging studies have shown abnormal amygdala activation in people with autism. But no one had identified precise neural circuits involved in anxiety.Read more at...SFARI, March 2011.