TY - JOUR
T1 - White-matter abnormalities in the right posterior hemisphere in generalized anxiety disorder
T2 - A diffusion imaging study
AU - Brambilla, P.
AU - Como, G.
AU - Isola, M.
AU - Taboga, F.
AU - Zuliani, R.
AU - Goljevscek, S.
AU - Ragogna, M.
AU - Brondani, G.
AU - Baiano, M.
AU - Perini, L.
AU - Ferro, A.
AU - Bazzocchi, M.
AU - Zuiani, C.
AU - Balestrieri, M.
PY - 2012/2
Y1 - 2012/2
N2 - Background Prior imaging studies have shown structural, functional and biochemical impairments in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), particularly in the right hemisphere. In this study we investigated, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, the white-matter microstructure organization in GAD.Method A total of 12 patients with DSM-IV GAD and 15 matched healthy controls underwent a magnetic resonance imaging session of diffusion weighted imaging, exploring white-matter water molecules by the means of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs). Regions of interests were placed in the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes and in the splenium and genu of the corpus callosum, bilaterally.Results ADC measures were significantly greater in patients with GAD in the right splenium and right parietal cortex compared with healthy controls (p≤0.002). No significant correlations between ADCs and age or clinical variables were found.Conclusions We provide evidence that GAD is associated with disrupted white-matter coherence of posterior right hemisphere regions, which may partly sustain the impaired cognitive regulation of anxiety. Future diffusion imaging investigations are expected to better elucidate the communication between the parietal cortex and other right hemisphere regions in sustaining the cognitive processing of social and emotional stimuli in patients with GAD.
AB - Background Prior imaging studies have shown structural, functional and biochemical impairments in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), particularly in the right hemisphere. In this study we investigated, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, the white-matter microstructure organization in GAD.Method A total of 12 patients with DSM-IV GAD and 15 matched healthy controls underwent a magnetic resonance imaging session of diffusion weighted imaging, exploring white-matter water molecules by the means of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs). Regions of interests were placed in the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes and in the splenium and genu of the corpus callosum, bilaterally.Results ADC measures were significantly greater in patients with GAD in the right splenium and right parietal cortex compared with healthy controls (p≤0.002). No significant correlations between ADCs and age or clinical variables were found.Conclusions We provide evidence that GAD is associated with disrupted white-matter coherence of posterior right hemisphere regions, which may partly sustain the impaired cognitive regulation of anxiety. Future diffusion imaging investigations are expected to better elucidate the communication between the parietal cortex and other right hemisphere regions in sustaining the cognitive processing of social and emotional stimuli in patients with GAD.
KW - Cognition
KW - corpus callosum
KW - frontal cortex
KW - neuroimaging
KW - parietal cortex
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84857279567&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84857279567&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0033291711001255
DO - 10.1017/S0033291711001255
M3 - Article
C2 - 21781374
AN - SCOPUS:84857279567
VL - 42
SP - 427
EP - 434
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
SN - 0033-2917
IS - 2
ER -