Opposite asymmetries in blind locomotor orientation of patients with panic agoraphobia compared to those with generalized anxiety.

Panic agoraphobic subjects constantly struggle with the accurate registration of everyday space-time dimension. They are hindered in the exploration of their surroundings by constant self-directed attention. In our investigations we examined whether during experimental goal-directed locomotion orientation insecurity would appear. The accuracy of target-directed motion, i.e. the degree of lateral deviation, was recorded in three diagnostic groups, panic agoraphobics (15 subjects), generalized anxiety patients (15 subjects), and normal controls (15 subjects), and normal controls (15 subjects). According to our results the approach vector of the panic agoraphobics deviated to the right, while in the case of generalized anxiety patients it deviated to the left, while normal controls did not deviate significantly from the middle line. Results are compatible with previous literature which associated panic with an overactivity of left-sided functions, and generalised anxiety with an overactivity of right-sided functions.