Prefrontal and amygdala engagement during emotional reactivity and regulation in generalized anxiety disorder

Journal of Affective Disorders
Jacklynn M FitzgeraldHeide Klumpp

Abstract

Emotion dysregulation is prominent in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), characterized clinically by exaggerated reactivity to negative stimuli and difficulty in down-regulating this response. Although limited research implicates frontolimbic disturbances in GAD, whether neural aberrations occur during emotional reactivity, regulation, or both is not well understood. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 30 individuals with GAD and 30 healthy controls (HC) completed a well-validated explicit emotion regulation task designed to measure emotional reactivity and regulation of reactivity. During the task, participants viewed negative images ('Look-Negative' condition) and, on some trials, used a cognitive strategy to reduce negative affective response ('Reappraise' condition). Results from an Analysis of Variance corrected for whole brain multiple comparisons showed a significant group x condition interaction in the left amygdala and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Results from post-hoc analyses showed that the GAD group engaged these regions to a greater extent than HCs during Look-Negative but not Reappraise. Behaviorally, the GAD group reported feeling more negative than the HC group in each condition, althoug...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 9, 2018·Depression and Anxiety·Jacklynn M FitzgeraldK Luan Phan
Feb 1, 2020·Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry·Anna Todeva-RadnevaDrozdstoy St Stoyanov
Aug 15, 2020·Stress and Health : Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress·Liron Lapid PickmanTalya Greene
Aug 8, 2019·Brain Connectivity·Carissa N WeisChristine L Larson
Jan 30, 2018·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience·Jianping QiaoGuangrun Xu
Oct 26, 2018·Psychological Medicine·Heide KlumppJacklynn M Fitzgerald
May 23, 2019·Revista brasileira de psiquiatria : orgão oficial da Associação Brasileira de Psiquiatria, Asociación Psiquiátrica de la América Latina·Domenico MadonnaPaolo Brambilla
Oct 20, 2019·Brain Imaging and Behavior·Yingying FanPeng Liu
Apr 2, 2021·Depression and Anxiety·Namita Tanya PadgaonkarTara S Peris
Apr 4, 2021·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Nayoung Kim, M Justin Kim
Jun 16, 2021·Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience·Leah A GrandePilyoung Kim

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