View source for Biology:Hypermerimna

'''Hypermerimna''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|h|aɪ|p|ər|m|ə|ˈ|r|ɪ|m|n|ə}}; {{ety|el|''ὑπέρ'' (hyper)|over||''μέριμνα'' (merimna)|anxiety}}) is an inability to remove focus from [[Medicine:Anxiety|anxiety]]-producing [[Biology:Stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]], which may be caused by damage to the [[Biology:Attentional control|attention control]] centers of the [[Biology:Brain|brain]].

== Causes ==
Hypermerimna is observed when a subject with anxiety has difficulty in disengaging from novel stimuli, and may be caused by damage to the brain's [[Biology:Prefrontal cortex|pre-frontal]] control regions.<ref>{{cite journal |author = Kalisch, R., Wiech, K., Critchley, H.D., Seymour, B., O’Doherty, J.P., Oakley, D.A., Allen, P., Dolan, R.J|title = Anxiety reduction through detachment: subjective, physiological, and neural effects.|journal = Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience|volume = 17|issue = 6|pages = 874–83|date = 2005|pmid = 15969906|doi = 10.1162/0898929054021184|citeseerx = 10.1.1.319.5312|s2cid = 414744}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title = Attention and anxiety: different attentional functioning under state and trait anxiety.|last1 = Pacheco-Unguetti|first1 = Antonia Pilar|date = 2010|journal = Psychological Science|doi = 10.1177/0956797609359624|pmid = 20424060|pages = 298–304|volume = 21|issue = 2|last2 = Acosta|first2 = Alberto|last3 = Callejas|first3 = Alicia|last4 = Lupiáñez|first4 = Juan|s2cid = 34083371}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title = The cocktail party phenomenon revisited: The importance of working memory capacity|journal = Psychonomic Bulletin & Review|date = 2001-06-01|issn = 1069-9384|pages = 331–335|volume = 8|issue = 2|doi = 10.3758/BF03196169|language = en|first1 = Andrew R. A.|last1 = Conway|first2 = Nelson|last2 = Cowan|first3 = Michael F.|last3 = Bunting|pmid=11495122|doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title = Attention and Performance|journal = Annual Review of Psychology|date = 2001-01-01|pmid = 11148320|pages = 629–651|volume = 52|issue = 1|doi = 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.629 | last1 = Pashler | first1 = H | last2 = Johnston | first2 = JC | last3 = Ruthruff | first3 = E}}</ref> The patterns of disrupted attentional control relate to findings of disrupted performance on [[Philosophy:Executive functions|executive functions]] tasks, such as working memory across a wide number of different disorder groups.<ref>{{cite journal|title = Using developmental cognitive neuroscience to study behavioral and attentional control|journal = Developmental Psychobiology|date = 2009-03-01|issn = 1098-2302|pages = 107–118|volume = 51|issue = 2|doi = 10.1002/dev.20350|language = en|first1 = Duncan E.|last1 = Astle|first2 = Gaia|last2 = Scerif|pmid=18973175}}</ref>

== Treatment ==
Hypermerimna may respond to standard treatment for painful conditions if the anxiety is induced by [[Medicine:Pain|pain]], using various drugs such as SSRIs or [[Chemistry:Tricyclic antidepressant|tricyclic antidepressant]]s.<ref>{{cite journal  |vauthors = Matsuzawa-Yanagida K, Narita M, Nakajima M, etal|title = Usefulness of antidepressants for improving the neuropathic pain-like state and pain-induced anxiety through actions at different brain sites|journal = [[Medicine:Neuropsychopharmacology|Neuropsychopharmacology]]|volume = 33|issue = 8|pages = 1952–65|date = July 2008|pmid = 17957217|doi = 10.1038/sj.npp.1301590|doi-access = free}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Biology:Attentional control|Attentional control]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Neurology]]
[[Category:Anxiety disorders]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hypermerimna}}