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Social Stress, Affect, and Neural Function 237in the decreased-bias group. If researchers can more precisely identify the natureand location of such changes, it may be possible to further refine attention trainingexercises to provide rapid and lasting benefits to individuals who are particularlyvulnerable to stress. This may be a particularly advantageous approach ifimplemented early in development; longitudinal study of high-risk children andadolescents who are trained to allocate attention away from threat would providepowerful evidence regarding the generalizability and duration of such learningeffects.Studies examining changes in brain function following exposure to trauma pointto a second way in which neuroscience may inform prevention efforts. Recent workin the neurosciences conceptualizes posttraumatic anxiety reactions in humans asa type of aberrant memory formation. This work extends research in rodents demonstratingthe role of a circuit encompassing the amygdala, hippocampus, andventral prefrontal cortex in the formation and extinction of fear memories (Debiecet al., 2006; Milad & Quirk, 2002; Nader, 2003). This view of fear-memory formationsuggests that novel preventative interventions may prove helpful in minimizingsequalae of trauma. For example, some have suggested that pharmacologicinterventions that alter physiological arousal might prevent the development ofposttraumatic anxiety reactions if administered immediately following trauma(Pitman & Delahanty, 2005). Like attentional retraining, such interventions mightbe particularly powerful if implemented in youth, when they could have markedeffects on later functioning in still-developing neural structures within the SIPN.Long-term effects have yet to be studied but merit careful attention.Both of these novel approaches to prevention are notable because they emergefrom integrations of basic and clinical perspectives and represent hypotheses thatmust be tested experimentally. Although neither intervention may ultimately proveto be beneficial, both advance thinking along theoretical lines by integrating insightsfrom multiple scientific perspectives. Traditionally, theories in the mentalhealth sciences have benefited from broad support from diverse lines of scientificinquiry.ConclusionsIn this chapter, we reviewed the literature on the increased risk for anxiety disordersthat emerges during adolescence, with a focus on the social and neural changesthat may figure prominently in the onset of this elevated risk. We then proposedan approach to studying the interactions among social and neural mechanismsunderlying risk that integrates research from clinical psychopathology, developmentalpsychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Studies emerging from the intersectionof these fields hold promise for elucidating new prevention and treatmentapproaches to adolescent anxiety disorders; the literature that incorporates aspects