Please read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
Mohan is a 16 years old boy studying in high school. He usually gets anxious in normal circumstances. He has bouts of anxiety attacks when his teachers give him any assignments. In normal times too, he shows symptoms like restlessness, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, frequent urination, rapid heart rate etc. He has unpleasant feelings of fear and apprehensions. After such observations his family members brought him to a psychologist for consultation. The psychologist took detailed information about his psychological attributes, history in the context of his physical & psycho-social environment and interviews with his parents. The parents recalled that their child has become anxious & fearful and is unable to relax. Gradually Mohan is isolating himself from all his near and dear ones.
The disorder Mohan is suffering from is associated with the low activity of the neurotransmitter _________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → GABA (Gamma aminobutyric acid)
Mohan suffers from an anxiety disorder. Abnormal activity of certain neurotransmitters, the chemicals that carry the message from one neuron to the next, can lead to specific psychological disorders.
Option (1) GAMA (Gama amino meucolic acid) — Incorrect. There is no such neurotransmitter. The name is a distorted copy of GABA, gamma aminobutyric acid, which is Option (3).
Option (2) Dopamine — Incorrect. Dopamine is linked to schizophrenia, and through its excess activity, not its low activity. Mohan shows no sign of schizophrenia.
Option (3) GABA (Gamma aminobutyric acid) — Correct. Anxiety disorders have been linked to low activity of the neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA).
Option (4) Serotonin — Incorrect. Low activity of serotonin is linked to depression, a disorder of low mood and loss of interest, not to the fear and apprehension Mohan feels.
NCERT (2025-26): “Factors Underlying Abnormal Behaviour … Studies indicate that abnormal activity by certain neuro-transmitters can lead to specific psychological disorders. Anxiety disorders have been linked to low activity of the neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), schizophrenia to excess activity of dopamine, and depression to low activity of serotonin.…” |