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Updated: Jan 22, 2026
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Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
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Neuroimaging depression and anxiety in essential tremor: A diffusion tensor imaging study
Yildizhan Sengul1, Hafize Otcu2, Ismet Ustun3
1Department of Neurology, Bezmialem Foundation University School of Medicine, Bezmialem Foundation University, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey; Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Clinical Imaging
|July 9, 2019
Summary
Essential tremor (ET) patients with depression showed reduced left amygdala fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased radial diffusivity (RD). Anxiety symptoms in ET were linked to microstructural changes in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and precuneus.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Essential tremor (ET) is often accompanied by non-motor symptoms, particularly neuropsychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety.
- Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of these symptoms in ET is crucial for comprehensive patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between microstructural brain changes and the presence of depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with Essential Tremor (ET).
Main Methods:
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) was used to assess microstructural brain changes in 62 ET patients.
- Fractional Anisotropy (FA), Mean Diffusivity (MD), and other DTI metrics were calculated for 17 brain regions.
- Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used to quantify depression and anxiety symptoms.
Main Results:
- Depressed ET patients exhibited decreased left amygdala FA and increased left amygdala RD compared to non-depressed patients.
- Anxious ET patients showed differences in FA in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and left precuneus.
- BDI scores correlated with left amygdala FA and RD; BAI scores correlated with left VLPFC and left precuneus FA.
Conclusions:
- The study provides evidence linking structural brain alterations in specific regions to depression and anxiety symptoms in Essential Tremor.
- These findings suggest that neuropsychiatric symptoms in ET may stem from observable microstructural brain changes.
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