Altered heartbeat perception sensitivity associated with brain structural alterations in generalised anxiety disorder

作者：Hui Li, Bin Zhang, Qiang Hu, Lanlan Zhang, Yi Jin, Jijun Wang, HuiRu Cui, Jiaoyan Pang, Chunbo Li · 发表于：General Psychiatry · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1136/gpsych-2019-100057 · 被引用次数：18 · 研究领域：Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments、Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes、Vagus Nerve Stimulation Research

BACKGROUND: Palpitation is a common complaint in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Brain imaging studies have investigated the neural mechanism of heartbeat perception in healthy volunteers. This study explored the neuroanatomical differences of altered heartbeat perception in patients with GAD using structural MRI. AIMS: Based on the strong somatic-interoceptive symptoms in GAD, we explored the regional structural brain abnormalities involved in heartbeat perception in patients with GAD. METHODS: This study was applied to the a priori regions using neuroanatomical theories of heartbeat perception, including the insula, anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area and prefrontal cortex. A total of 19 patients with GAD and 19 healthy control subjects were enrolled. We used the FMRIB Software Library voxel-based morphometry software for estimating the grey matter volume of these regions of interest and analysed the correlation between heartbeat perception sensitivity and the volume of abnormal grey matter. RESULTS: Patients with GAD showed a significantly decreased volume of grey matter in their left medial prefrontal cortex, right orbital frontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. The grey matter volume of the left medial prefrontal cortex negatively correlated with heartbeat perception sensitivity in patients with GAD. CONCLUSIONS: It should be the first study that shows heartbeat perception is associated with brain structure in GAD. Our findings suggest that the ...