Information processing in anxiety: The role of working memory

Anxiety disorders belong to the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, justifying a high motivation for high-standard diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. To date, check-up tools for psychological prophylaxis are outstandingly dissatisfying. Moreover, both pharmacological and psychological interventions are not effective in all patients. These shortcomings reflect the unsatisfied need for theoretical approaches that allow for an individual risk definition or relapse indication and the prediction of individual treatment success. Disorder-specific distortions of information processing are increasingly appreciated as an important link in meeting these needs. The author Andrea Reinecke extensively reviews recent research on attention and memory for emotional material in anxiety disorders and its relevance in the enhancement of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in anxiety. Most importantly, she defines a surprisingly underrepresented gap in recent cognitive bias research and convincingly highlights its clinical potential: the working memory. The book addresses medical science researchers and students, but is also suitable and enriching for intrigued laities.