Psychological stress can cause major health problems, such as anxiety disorders and depression.  To date, most drug treatments for anxiety disorders and depression have been based on chance discoveries rather than a clear understanding of underlying mechanisms.

The Behavioural Disorders Group is using animal models to investigate the biological basis of psychological stress. The group is mapping brain pathways that trigger the damaging effects of short and long term conflict between individuals.

Current research is focussed on the issue of biological differences in coping style and how this may affect vulnerability to the development of stress-related disorders, especially depression.