Impact of state and trait anxiety on the panic response to CCK-4.

In order to elucidate the impact of psychological factors on panic severity the correlation between baseline anxiety and panic response to cholecystokinin-tetrapeptide (CCK-4), an established model of human anxiety, was investigated in 33 healthy volunteers. Baseline anxiety was assessed with the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI). Trait and state anxiety did not differ between panickers and nonpanickers nor were they correlated with panic severity. In conclusion, psychological factors are not major determinants for the subjective panic response to CCK-4 thus emphasising the importance of neurobiological factors.