title: Increased brainstem volume in panic disorder: a voxel-based morphometric study.
abstract: Neurocircuitry models of panic disorder have hypothesized that the panic attack itself stems from loci in the brainstem including the ascending reticular system and respiratory and cardiovascular control centers. Voxel-based morphometry with acobian modulation was used to examine gray matter volume changes in 10 panic disorder patients and 23 healthy controls. The panic disorder patients had a relatively increased gray matter volume in the midbrain and rostral pons of the brainstem. Increased ventral hippocampal and decreased regional prefrontal cortex volumes were also noted at a lower significance threshold. This finding has implications for pathophysiologic models of panic disorder, and provides structural evidence for the role of the brainstem in neurocircuitry models of panic disorder.
authors.affiliation: Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Xenia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Protopopescu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tuescher
authors.forename: Marylene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cloitre
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Almut
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engelien
authors.forename: Yihong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gorman
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: LeDoux
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Silbersweig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012154:Reticular Formation / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017557:Ventral Tegmental Area / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology