title: Panic attacks in an individual with bilateral selective lesions of the amygdala.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the unique case of a patient with panic attacks and bilateral selective amygdala lesions due to Urbach-Wiethe disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  METHODS
  Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, Medical University of Vienna. Patient A 38-year-old man with Urbach-Wiethe disease developed spontaneous panic attacks and depressive mood, which ceased after antidepressive treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Video electroencephalography monitoring, magnetic resonance imaging, and neuropsychological testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Extended video electroencephalography monitoring excluded an epileptic etiology of the panic attacks. Results of cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed bilateral selective calcifications of the whole amygdaloid complex. Neuropsychological testing revealed selective memory impairment of autobiographic episodes with preserved memory for autobiographic facts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings indicate that the occurrence of panic attacks does not critically depend on the integrity of the amygdala. Furthermore, the neuropsychological findings in our patient suggest that the amygdala represents an essential neural substrate for the processing of episodic autobiographic memories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. gerald.wiest@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wiest
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lehner-Baumgartner
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baumgartner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D051457:Hyaline Cartilage / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D008065:Lipoid Proteinosis of Urbach and Wiethe / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D010556:Personality Tests; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents