Dissociable salience and default mode network modulation in generalized anxiety disorder: a connectome-wide
Rong Li1, Fei Shen1, Xiyue Sun1
1The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P.R. China.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|January 10, 2023
Summary
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) involves psychological and somatic symptoms. Brain connectivity in the salience network (SN) and default mode network (DMN) differs in GAD patients, potentially serving as a biomarker.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) presents with psychological and somatic symptoms, but the underlying functional brain connectivity alterations remain unclear.
- Understanding the relationship between functional connectome variations and specific anxiety dimensions is crucial for GAD research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between resting-state functional connectivity (FC) and anxiety symptom severity in GAD patients.
- To explore the distinct roles of the salience network (SN) and default mode network (DMN) in psychological and somatic anxiety dimensions.
- To identify potential neuroimaging biomarkers for GAD.
Main Methods:
- Multivariate distance-based matrix regression was employed to analyze resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in 118 GAD patients and 85 healthy controls (HCs).
- Hub regions within the SN and DMN were identified, and their connectivity patterns were correlated with anxiety symptom severity.
- Network-level FC changes and predictive relationships between DMN connectivity and psychological symptoms were examined.
Main Results:
- Dysconnectivity in SN and DMN hub regions was significantly associated with anxiety symptoms in GAD patients (P < 0.05, FDR-corrected).
- Psychological anxiety correlated with DMN hyper-connectivity, while somatic anxiety was linked to SN and DMN hyper-connectivity.
- Hypo-connectivity between SN and DMN was related to both anxiety dimensions. Significant network-level FC differences were observed between GAD patients and HCs (P < 0.01, FDR-corrected).
- DMN connectivity predicted individual psychological symptoms in an independent GAD sample.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights potentially dissociable roles for the SN and DMN in the pathophysiology of GAD's psychological and somatic symptoms.
- Altered functional connectivity within and between the SN and DMN may serve as neuroimaging biomarkers for GAD.
- These findings could inform the development of personalized treatment strategies for GAD.
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