fMRI amygdala activation during a spontaneous panic attack in a patient with panic disorder.
Previous studies on neuronal activation correlates of panic attacks were mostly based on challenge tests, sensory-related stimulation or fear conditioning in healthy subjects. In the present study, we report on a female patient with panic disorder experiencing a spontaneous panic attack under an auditory habituation paradigm in the last stimulation block with sine tones captured with fMRI at 3T. The panic attack was associated with a significantly increased activity in the right amygdala. This is the first report on neuronal activation correlates of a spontaneous panic attack in a patient with panic disorder as measured by fMRI, which lends further support to a pivotal role of the amygdala in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Pfleiderer
Bettina
B
Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany. pfleide@uni-muenster.de
Zinkirciran
Sariye
S
Arolt
Volker
V
Heindel
Walter
W
Deckert
Juergen
J
Domschke
Katharina
K
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D010555:Personality Inventory