New concepts in the neurobiology of anxiety.

Advances in understanding the neurobiologic bases of anxiety are reviewed. The discovery of a class of compounds generically known as "benzodiazepine antagonists" has been central to much of this work. One such group of compounds, the beta-carbolines, cause convulsions, produce an anxiety-like syndrome in primates, and reduce sleep. These compounds will provide a valuable means of investigating the mechanism of action of potential anxiolytics and of drugs currently used to treat anxious patients.