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Zusammenfassung AbstractThe interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety. Individual differences in fear, anxiety and in the etiology of anxiety disorders develop during ontogeny. They are due to both, genetic and environmental factors. Concerning the role of the environment the organism is most susceptible to external influences during early development. Accordingly, stressors that impinge on the maternal organism during pregnancy evoke high levels of anxiety in the offspring later in life, as does an adverse early postnatal environment. However, anxiety-related circuits in the CNS retain their plasticity in adulthood, that is, levels of anxiety can be modified by experience also later in life. Notably, the effects of external stressors on the individual's level of anxiety are modulated by genotype. Such genotype-by-environment interactions are particularly well studied concerning a polymorphism that modulates the function of the serotonin-transporter-gene. Thus, this review focusses on this candidate gene to elucidate the interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety.