Faculty Collaboration Database

Structural evidence for involvement of a left amygdala-orbitofrontal network in subclinical anxiety. Psychiatry Res 2011 Dec 30;194(3):296-303

Date

08/02/2011

Pubmed ID

21803551

Pubmed Central ID

PMC3544472

DOI

10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.05.007

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-82455210954 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   71 Citations

Abstract

Functional neuroimaging implicates hyperactivity of amygdala-orbitofrontal circuitry as a common neurobiological mechanism underlying the development of anxiety. Less is known about anxiety-related structural differences in this network. In this study, a sample of healthy adults with no history of anxiety disorders completed a 3T MRI scan and self-report mood inventories. Post-processing quantitative MRI image analysis included segmentation and volume estimation of subcortical structures, which were regressed on anxiety inventory scores, with depression scores used to establish discriminant validity. We then used a quantitative vertex-based post-processing method to correlate (1) anxiety scores and (2) left amygdala volumes with cortical thickness across the whole cortical mantle. Left amygdala volumes predicted anxiety, with decreased amygdala volume associated with higher anxiety on both state and trait anxiety measures. A negative correlation between left amygdala volume and cortical thickness overlapped with a positive correlation between anxiety and cortical thickness in left lateral orbitofrontal cortex. These results suggest a structural anxiety network that corresponds with a large body of evidence from functional neuroimaging. Such findings raise the possibility that structural abnormalities may result in a greater vulnerability to anxiety or conversely that elevated anxiety symptoms may result in focal structural changes.

Author List

Blackmon K, Barr WB, Carlson C, Devinsky O, DuBois J, Pogash D, Quinn BT, Kuzniecky R, Halgren E, Thesen T

Author

Chad Carlson MD Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Amygdala
Anxiety
Brain Mapping
Female
Functional Laterality
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Neural Pathways
Prefrontal Cortex
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Young Adult