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Functional anatomy of ventromedial prefrontal cortex: implications for mood and anxiety disorders.

ABSTRACT: In recent years, an increasing number of neuroimaging studies have sought to identify the brain anomalies associated with mood and anxiety disorders. The results of such studies could have significant implications for the development of novel treatments for these disorders. A challenge currently facing the field is to assimilate the large and growing corpus of imaging data to inform a systems-level model of the neural circuitry underlying the disorders. One prominent theoretical perspective highlights the top-down inhibition of amygdala by ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as a crucial neural mechanism that may be defective in certain mood and anxiety disorders, such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this article, we provide a critical review of animal and human data related to this model. In particular, we emphasize the considerable body of research that challenges the veracity (or at least completeness) of the predominant model. We propose a framework for constructing a more comprehensive model of vmPFC function, with the goal of fostering further progress in understanding the neuropathophysiological basis of mood and anxiety disorders.

SUBMITTER: Myers-Schulz B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3937071 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Functional anatomy of ventromedial prefrontal cortex: implications for mood and anxiety disorders.

Myers-Schulz B B Koenigs M M

Molecular psychiatry 20110726 2

In recent years, an increasing number of neuroimaging studies have sought to identify the brain anomalies associated with mood and anxiety disorders. The results of such studies could have significant implications for the development of novel treatments for these disorders. A challenge currently facing the field is to assimilate the large and growing corpus of imaging data to inform a systems-level model of the neural circuitry underlying the disorders. One prominent theoretical perspective high ...[more]

PMID: 21788943

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Connectivity between the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is compromised in multiple psychiatric disorders, many of which emerge during adolescence. To identify to what extent the deviations in amygdala-vmPFC maturation contribute to the onset of psychiatric disorders, it is essential to characterize amygdala-vmPFC connectivity changes during typical development. METHODS:Using an accelerated cohort longitudinal design (1-3 time points, 10-25 years old, n = 246), we characterized developmental changes of the amygdala-vmPFC subregion functional and structural connectivity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging. RESULTS:Functional connectivity between the centromedial amygdala and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), anterior vmPFC, and subgenual cingulate significantly decreased from late childhood to early adulthood in male and female subjects. Age-associated decreases were also observed between the basolateral amygdala and the rACC. Importantly, these findings were replicated in a separate cohort (10-22 years old, n = 327). Similarly, structural connectivity, as measured by quantitative anisotropy, significantly decreased with age in the same regions. Functional connectivity between the centromedial amygdala and the rACC was associated with structural connectivity in these same regions during early adulthood (22-25 years old). Finally, a novel time-varying coefficient analysis showed that increased centromedial amygdala-rACC functional connectivity was associated with greater anxiety and depression symptoms during early adulthood, while increased structural connectivity in centromedial amygdala-anterior vmPFC white matter was associated with greater anxiety/depression during late childhood. CONCLUSIONS:Specific developmental periods of functional and structural connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal systems may contribute to the emergence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and may play a critical role in the emergence of psychiatric disorders in adolescence.

Dataset Information

Functional anatomy of ventromedial prefrontal cortex: implications for mood and anxiety disorders.

Publications

Functional anatomy of ventromedial prefrontal cortex: implications for mood and anxiety disorders.

Similar Datasets

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