Altered Default Mode Network and Salience Network Functional Connectivity in Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorders: An ICA‐Based Resting‐State fMRI Study

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the role of the default mode network (DMN) and salience network (SN) in the assessment of pathophysiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) through analyzing the characteristics of internal function connectivity (FC) and to investigate the relationship of FC with Hamilton anxiety (HAMA) scale scores in untreated GAD patients during a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Rs-fMRI and HAMA scale scoring were performed in 51 GAD patients (31 GAD patients with liver stagnation transforming into fire type and 20 GAD patients with stagnation of liver-Qi syndrome type) and 20 healthy controls. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to assess the association between HAMA scores and abnormal brain FC. Compared with healthy controls, the FC of the right medial prefrontal gyrus of the DMN and the right superior temporal gyrus of the SN increased significantly in the GAD patients (P<0.001). However, the FC of the left middle frontal gyrus and bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus of the SN reduced significantly in the GAD patients with stagnation of liver-Qi syndrome type as compared with healthy controls and GAD patients with liver stagnation transforming into fire type (P<0.001). There was no relationship between abnormal brain FC and HAMA scores. In conclusion, the FC of the DMN and SN may be abnormal in the GAD patients at the resting state. The aberrant FC of some crucial brain regions of these networks may contribute to the pathophysiology of GAD.

Methylphenidate modulates interactions of anxiety with cognition

“…Interactions between anxiety and cognitive function are well documented, both at the neural and behavioral level. Neuroimaging studies consistently report a distinct engagement of the networks supporting cognitive function and self-referential processes in anxiety [[ 18 , 19 ], for reviews, see [ 20 , 21 ]]. However, the pattern of these anxiety-related effects varies, depending on the types of data (e.g., resting state, emotional task-based, cognitive task-based fMRI).…”

“…Cognitive function, such as WM, activates the FPCN (task-positive network) and deactivates the DMN (task-negative network) [for a review, see [ 17 ]]. Anxiety alters both the FCPN and the DMN, in ways that depend on the context [ 18 , 19 ], for reviews, see [ 20 , 21 ]. The most common effects of anxiety on neural networks, evidenced by resting-state neuroimaging studies, are of two types: (1) an impaired functional connectivity of both the FPCN (responsible for processes of attention, control, supervision) and DMN (responsible for self-referential processes), and (2) an increased functional connectivity of the salience network (responsible for coding biological significance of stimuli) and the bottom–up attention network (i.e., ventral attention network, responsible for stimulus-driven attention processes) [for a review, see [ 21 ]].…”

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Modulates Frontal and Temporal Time-Varying EEG Network in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Study

“…Abnormal functional connectivity of GAD has been reported widely in fMRI studies. Compared with healthy controls, the function connectivity of the right medial prefrontal gyrus of the default mode network and the superior temporal gyrus of the salience network increased significantly in the GAD patients (39). We used the adaptive directed transfer function to analyze TMS-EEG signals, as well as to prove the existence of network abnormality in GAD.…”

Changes in a Sensorimotor Network, Occipital Network, and Psychomotor Speed With in Three Months After Focal Surgical Injury in Pediatric Patients with Benign Intracranial Space-occupying Lesions

“…It involves a variety of elds, such as mental and psychological diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, cerebral tumours, and even changes in the brain network in Crohn's disease [7][8][9][10]. At present, rs-fMRI studies on human brain injury mainly focus on brain network changes in patients with stroke, traumatic brain injury, and brain tumours after multidisciplinary treatments [11][12][13]. However, rs-fMRI studies on injuries caused by surgery alone are rare, especially in the pediatric population.…”