Citation

Lai CH. Curr. Psychiatry Res. Rev. 2020; 16(3): 167-178.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020)

DOI

10.2174/2666082216999200918163245

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Panic disorder (PD) is a kind of anxiety disorder that impacts the life quality and functional perspectives in patients. However, the pathophysiological study of PD seems still inadequate and many unresolved issues need to be clarified.

OBJECTIVES: In this review article of biomarkers in PD, the investigator will focus on the findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in the pathophysiology study. The MRI biomarkers would be divided into several categories, on the basis of structural and functional perspectives.

METHODS: The structural category would include the gray matter and white matter tract studies. The functional category would consist of functional MRI (fMRI), resting-state fMRI (Rs-fMRI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The PD biomarkers revealed by the above methodologies would be discussed in this article.

RESULTS: For the gray matter perspectives, the PD patients would have alterations in the volumes of fear network structures, such as the amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and frontal regions. For the white matter tract studies, the PD patients seemed to have alterations in the fasciculus linking the fear network regions, such as the anterior thalamic radiation, uncinate fasciculus, fronto-occipital fasciculus, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. For the fMRI studies in PD, the significant results also focused on the fear network regions, such as the amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, insula, and frontal regions. For the Rs-fMRI studies, PD patients seemed to have alterations in the regions of the default mode network and fear network model. At last, the MRS results showed alterations in neuron metabolites of the hippocampus, amygdala, occipital cortex, and frontal regions.

CONCLUSION: The MRI biomarkers in PD might be compatible with the extended fear network model hypothesis in PD, which included the amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, insula, frontal regions, and sensory-related cortex. © 2020 Bentham Science Publishers.

Language: en

Keywords

human; cognition; Biomarkers; white matter; functional magnetic resonance imaging; suicide attempt; hippocampus; disease severity; MRI; Amygdala; Hippocampus; Insula; attention; pathophysiology; panic; Panic disorder; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; benzodiazepine; glucose; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; 4 aminobutyric acid; brain stem; agoraphobia; orbital cortex; thalamus; creatine; n acetylaspartic acid; Article; biological marker; cingulate gyrus; temporal lobe; diffusion tensor imaging; gray matter; lactic acid; creatine phosphate; insula; executive function; anterior cingulate; DNA polymorphism; morphometry; parahippocampal gyrus; amygdala; uncinate fasciculus; Extended fear network; Frontal regions; superior longitudinal fasciculus