Current findings of fMRI in panic disorder: contributions for the fear neurocircuitry and CBT effects.
Thanks to brain imaging great advances have been made concerning the comprehension of neural substrates related to panic disorder (PD). This article aims to: review the recent functional MRI (fMRI) studies concerning PD; correlate the PD fMRI neurobiological findings with the fear neurocircuitry hypothesis; discuss the fear neurocircuitry hypothesis and link it to cognitive-behavior therapy findings; and comment on fMRI study limitations and suggest methodological changes for future research. As a whole, there is increasing evidence that brain structures such as the prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and limbic areas (hippocampus and amygdala) might play a major role in the panic response.
Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. marcelecarvalho@gmail.com
Marcele Regine
MR
de Carvalho
Gisele Pereira
GP
Dias
Fiammetta
F
Cosci
Valfrido Leão
VL
de-Melo-Neto
Mário Cesar do Nascimento
MC
Bevilaqua
Patricia Franca
PF
Gardino
Antonio Egidio
AE
Nardi
D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*