Effect of worry on regional cerebral blood flow in nonanxious subjects

Several studies suggest that cognitive tasks attenuate activation of the limbic system by emotional stimuli. We investigated the possibility that worry would similarly inhibit the limbic system by examining its effects on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Ten nonanxious volunteers underwent four...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 2005-12, Vol.140 (3), p.259-269
Main Authors: Hoehn-Saric, Rudolf, Lee, Jae Sung, McLeod, Daniel R., Wong, Dean F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affectivity. Emotion
Anxiety
Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis
Anxiety Disorders - diagnostic imaging
Autonomic Nervous System - physiology
Autonomic responses
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - blood supply
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Normal subjects
Personality. Affectivity
Positron emission tomography
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
rCBF
Regional Blood Flow
Severity of Illness Index
Worry
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Summary:Several studies suggest that cognitive tasks attenuate activation of the limbic system by emotional stimuli. We investigated the possibility that worry would similarly inhibit the limbic system by examining its effects on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Ten nonanxious volunteers underwent four scans within one session, using positron emission tomography (PET) with H 2 15O as tracer. The first two scans recorded emotionally neutral thinking induced after listening to tapes describing neutral statements. Preceding the third and fourth scans, subjects listened to the self-recorded tape describing their individual worries, were instructed to continue to worry, and were scanned 5 min later. Subjects rated themselves as more anxious during the worry scans but showed no significant heart interbeat or skin conductance changes. During worry, rCBF increases were found bilaterally in the medial fronto-orbital gyri and the right thalamus; rCBF decreases were found bilaterally in the hippocampi and amygdalae, in the right insula, the left and right inferior, middle and superior temporal gyri and the occipito-temporal gyri, the right inferior occipital gyrus and the left supramarginal gyrus. Activity of the left orbito-frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with activity of the amygdalae. The results support the hypothesis that worry-induced prefrontal activity suppresses affect-related subcortical regions.
ISSN:0925-4927
0165-1781
1872-7506
DOI:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.05.013