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Impaired emotion processing in functional (psychogenic) tremor: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Alberto J Espay1, Thomas Maloney2, Jennifer Vannest2
1Gardner Family Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Neuroimage. Clinical
|November 1, 2017
Summary
Functional tremor (FT) patients show altered brain activity and connectivity in emotion processing networks. These findings shed light on the neural basis of functional movement disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Functional tremor (FT) is a common functional movement disorder with significant disability.
- Neural mechanisms underlying emotion processing in FT remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate brain activity and connectivity during emotion processing in FT patients.
- Compare FT patients to those with essential tremor (ET) and healthy controls (HCs).
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study.
- Participants: 27 FT, 16 ET, 25 HCs.
- Tasks: motor, basic-emotion, intense-emotion; seed-to-seed connectivity analyses.
Main Results:
- FT group showed increased cerebellar activation during motor task (vs. ET).
- FT group exhibited altered activation in paracingulate and Heschl's gyri during basic-emotion task (vs. HC).
- Increased amygdala-frontal gyrus connectivity observed in FT during intense-emotion task (vs. HC).
Conclusions:
- Functional tremor is linked to altered brain network activity and connectivity in emotion processing.
- Findings suggest implications for understanding the pathophysiology of functional movement disorders.
Keywords:
AFNI, Analysis of Functional NeuroimagesCPT-END, continuous performance task with emotional and neutral distractersConversion disorderEPI, echo-planar imagingEmotion processingFSL, FMRIB Software LibraryFT, functional tremorFunctional movement disordersFunctional tremorHAM-A, Hamilton Anxiety Rating ScaleHAM-D, Hamilton Depression Rating ScaleMDEFT, modified equilibrium Fourier transformMINI, Mini International Neuropsychiatric InterviewPsychogenic tremorfMRIfMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging
