Abnormal resting-state functional connectivity in panic disorder: An exploratory whole-brain MRI study.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Panic disorder (PD) is defined by persistent anxiety about panic attacks, leading to significant social impairment.
• Underlying resting-state brain function anomalies in PD remain poorly understood.
• This study investigates resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in PD using a data-driven approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify differences in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between individuals with panic disorder (PD) and healthy controls (HCs).
• To explore the relationship between altered rsFC and clinical measures of anxiety and panic symptoms in PD.

Main Methods:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans and clinical assessments were conducted on 39 PD patients and 44 HCs.
• Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) was analyzed across 9045 connections involving 135 brain regions.
• Cluster-wise analysis identified significant group differences in rsFC, with subsequent correlation analyses performed with clinical symptom scores.

Main Results:

• A significant cluster-level difference in rsFC was found between PD patients and HCs.
• This difference involved connections between the medial occipital region and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
• PD patients displayed higher rsFC in 11 connections within this cluster, with eight correlating positively with anxiety symptom scores.

Conclusions:

• Increased rsFC between the medial occipital region and the ACC in PD suggests a potential neural mechanism.
• This may involve anxiety-provoking visual imagery influencing self-referential processing mediated by the ACC.
• Targeting visual imagery through interventions could offer a novel therapeutic approach for managing daily anxiety in PD.