Cited by 82Memory and Neural MechanismsFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Amygdala-Cortical Connectivity: Associations with Anxiety, Development, and Threat: 2015 ADAA Scientific Research Symposium: Anxiety, Development, and Connectivity

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Gold, Andrea L., Shechner, Tomer, Farber, Madeline J., Spiro, Carolyn N., Leibenluft, Ellen, Pine, Daniel S., Britton, Jennifer C.·2016·Depression and Anxiety

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Amygdala-prefrontal cortex (PFC) functional connectivity may be influenced by anxiety and development. A prior study on anxiety found age-specific dysfunction in the ventromedial PFC (vmPFC), but not amygdala, associated with threat-safety discrimination during extinction recall (Britton et al.). However, translational research suggests that amygdala-PFC circuitry mediates responses following learned extinction. Anxiety-related perturbations may emerge in functional connectivity within this circuit during extinction recall tasks. The current report uses data from the prior study to examine how anxiety and development relate to task-dependent amygdala-PFC connectivity. METHODS: Eighty-two subjects (14 anxious youths, 15 anxious adults, 25 healthy youths, 28 healthy adults) completed an extinction recall task, which directed attention to different aspects of stimuli. Generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis tested whether task-dependent functional connectivity with anatomically defined amygdala seed regions differed across anxiety and age groups. RESULTS: Whole-brain analyses showed significant interactions of anxiety, age, and attention task (i.e., threat appraisal, explicit threat memory, physical discrimination) on left amygdala functional connectivity with the vmPFC and ventral anterior cingulate cortex (Talairach XYZ coordinates: -16, 31, -6 and 1, 36, -4). During threat appraisal and explicit threat memory (vs. physical discrimination), anxious youth showed more negative amygdala-PFC coupling, whereas anxious adults showed more positive coupling. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of extinction recall, anxious youths and adults manifested opposite directions of amygdala-vmPFC coupling, specifically when appraising and explicitly remembering previously learned threat. Future research on anxiety should consider associations of both development and attention to threat with functional connectivity perturbations.

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  • During extinction recall, adolescents compared to adults show reduced mPFC activation.

    “However, during extinction recall, adolescents compared to adults show reduced mPFC activation, and anxious youth, compared to non-anxious youth show different patterns of task-related functional coupling between the amygdala-mPFC15.”
  • Anxious youth compared to non-anxious youth show different patterns of task-related functional coupling between the amygdala and mPFC.

    “However, during extinction recall, adolescents compared to adults show reduced mPFC activation, and anxious youth, compared to non-anxious youth show different patterns of task-related functional coupling between the amygdala-mPFC15.”

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  1. [57]First MB Spitzer RL Gibbon M Williams JBW Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders, Research Version, Patient Edition (SCID-I/P)

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Authors
Gold, A. L., Shechner, T., Farber, M. J., Spiro, C. N., Leibenluft, E., Pine, D. S., & Britton, J. C.
Affiliations
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • University of Haifa (IL)
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
  • University of Miami (US)
Corresponding author
Gold, Andrea L.
Venue
Depression and Anxiety
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-10
Volume
33
Issue
10
Pages
917-926
ISSN
1091-4269 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2529716934
Cited by
82
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2
FWCI
5.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Depression and Anxiety (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Intramural Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health (K99/R00MH091183)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
anxiety, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, extinction recall, threat appraisal, age differences, developmental differences, generalized psychophysiological interaction, threat-safety discrimination
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Amygdala, Anxiety Disorders, Arousal, Attention, Brain Mapping, Conditioning, Classical, Extinction, Psychological, Fear, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nerve Net, Mental Recall, Prefrontal Cortex

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