Cerebral correlates of heart rate variations during a spontaneous panic attack in the fMRI scanner.
We report the first published case study of a suddenly occurring panic attack in a patient with no prior history of panic disorder during combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, 1.5 Tesla) and electrocardiogram (ECG) recording. The single case was a 46-year-old woman who developed a panic attack near the planned end of the fMRI acquisition session, which therefore had to be aborted. Correlational analysis of heart rate fluctuations and fMRI data revealed a significant negative association in the left middle temporal gyrus. Additionally, regions-of-interest (ROI) analyses indicated significant positive associations in the left amygdala, and trends towards significance in the right amygdala and left insula.
Spiegelhalder
Kai
K
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg Medical Center, Hauptstrasse 5, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. Kai.Spiegelhalder@uniklinik-freiburg.de
Hornyak
Magdolna
M
Kyle
Simon David
SD
Paul
Dominik
D
Blechert
Jens
J
Seifritz
Erich
E
Hennig
Jürgen
J
Tebartz van Elst
Ludger
L
Riemann
Dieter
D
Feige
Bernd
B
D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology