Ontogeny of the Corticolimbic System and the Risk of Anxiety Disorders in Adolescence

Interactions of the amygdala, frontal cortex, and hippocampus, key structures in the corticolimbic system, play an important role in forming behavioral responses to threatening stimuli. The ontogenetic features of these interactions, both at the level of the formation of afferent and efferent connections between structures and the neurotransmitter and neurotrophic processes taking place within them, may be the causes of increases in the risk of psychoemotional disorders in the adolescent period as compared with earlier and later periods of life. Critical analysis of published data on this question is important for clarifying the mechanisms of formation of adolescent psychopathology and may aid the search for means of correcting it.