Pharmacological approaches, such as the administration of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), CRH antagonist, or hydrocortisone, which have recently been accomplished in the GI system35–38, allow clinicians to specifically assess effects on GI-related functions mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis but arguably have limited external validity as models of psychological stress in humans given a lack of effects at the subjective level (for example, no increase in subjective stress levels of state anxiety). Here, CRH is linked to anxiety disorder.