Amygdala functional connectivity as a longitudinal biomarker of symptom changes in generalized anxiety.

Makovac, Elena, Watson, David R., Meeten, Frances, Garfinkel, Sarah N., Cercignani, Mara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4550-2456, Critchley, Hugo and Ottaviani, Cristina 2016. Amygdala functional connectivity as a longitudinal biomarker of symptom changes in generalized anxiety. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 11 (11) , pp. 1719-1728. 10.1093/scan/nsw091

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Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive worry, autonomic dysregulation and functional amygdala dysconnectivity, yet these illness markers have rarely been considered together, nor their interrelationship tested longitudinally. We hypothesized that an individual's capacity for emotion regulation predicts longer-term changes in amygdala functional connectivity, supporting the modification of GAD core symptoms. Sixteen patients with GAD (14 women) and individually matched controls were studied at two time points separated by 1 year. Resting-state fMRI data and concurrent measurement of vagally mediated heart rate variability were obtained before and after the induction of perseverative cognition. A greater rise in levels of worry following the induction predicted a stronger reduction in connectivity between right amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and enhanced coupling between left amygdala and ventral tegmental area at follow-up. Similarly, amplified physiological responses to the induction predicted increased connectivity between right amygdala and thalamus. Longitudinal shifts in a distinct set of functional connectivity scores were associated with concomitant changes in GAD symptomatology over the course of the year. Results highlight the prognostic value of indices of emotional dysregulation and emphasize the integral role of the amygdala as a critical hub in functional neural circuitry underlying the progression of GAD symptomatology.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) Psychology
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1749-5016
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 March 2021
Date of Acceptance:	20 June 2016
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 18:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/139540

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