Objectives: the following review aims to present accumulated evidence in the literature around the main human models for induction of anxiety and the measures frequently used for its evaluation. Method: It was made a bibliographic research having as source of research articles listed by Pubmed and Medline databases and research in specific books which have investigated the main human models for experimental anxiety induction and the measurements frequently used for its evaluation. Discussion: Both the psychological and chemical models for anxiety induction present ethical limits and are constituted of fundamental links between basic research and therapeutic tests done with the patients. The psychological and/or physiological measures for evaluating experimentally produced anxiety reflect body changes that express the level of the elicited anxiety. Conclusion: The use of clinical models and evaluation measures in the study of experimental anxiety makes possible, under the scientific research, understanding the neurobiological substrate of anxiety in its pathological manifestation, beyond evaluating drugs with anxyolitic potential.
