Cited by 351Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMemory and Neural MechanismsNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Human Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis Indexes Hypervigilant Threat Monitoring

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Somerville, Leah H., Whalen, Paul J., Kelley, William M.·2010·Biological Psychiatry

Abstract

Background Though a key symptom underlying many anxiety disorders is hypervigilant threat monitoring, its biological bases in humans remain poorly understood. Animal models suggest that anxious processes such as hypervigilant threat monitoring are distinct from cued fear-like responses and mediated by the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Here, we applied psychophysiological and neuroimaging methodologies sensitive to sustained arousal-based responses to test the role of the human BNST in mediating environmental threat monitoring, a potential experimental model for sustained anxiety symptoms.Methods Healthy participants (n = 50) with varying trait anxiety performed an environmental threat-monitoring task during functional magnetic resonance imaging where a stimulus line continuously fluctuated in height, providing information relevant to subsequent risk for electric shocks. Skin conductance was collected in a separate cohort (n = 47) to validate task-evoked modulation of physiological arousal.Results A forebrain region consistent with the BNST showed greater overall recruitment and exaggerated tracking of threat proximity in individuals with greater anxiety. The insular cortex tracked threat proximity across all participants, showed exaggerated threat proximity responding with greater anxiety, and showed enhanced recruitment when threat proximity was ostensibly controllable.Conclusions Activity in the BNST and insula continuously monitored changes in environmental threat level and also subserved hypervigilant threat-monitoring processes in more highly trait anxious individuals. These findings bridge human and animal research informing the role of the BNST in anxious-related processes. In addition, these findings suggest that continuous functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms offer promise in further elucidating the neural circuitries supporting sustained anticipatory features of anxiety.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.04.002

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  1. [64]Whalen PJ Davis FC Oler JA Kim H Kim MJ Neta M Whalen PJ Phelps EA 2009 Human amygdala responses to facial expressions of emotion The human amygdala New York Guilford Press 265 288
  2. [89]Barlow DH 1988 Anxiety and its disorders New York Guilford Press

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Authors
Somerville, L. H., Whalen, P. J., & Kelley, W. M.
Affiliations
Dartmouth College (US)
Corresponding author
Somerville, Leah H.
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-09
Volume
68
Issue
5
Pages
416-424
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1972368693
Cited by
351
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 29
FWCI
27.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (DA007274, NSF0746220, MH080716)
  • Dartmouth Brain Imaging Center
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, trait anxiety, environmental hazards, insula, anticipatory anxiety, skin conductance, anxiety disorders
MeSH terms
Animals, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Arousal, Behavior, Animal, Fear, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Psychological Techniques, Septal Nuclei, Reflex, Startle, Models, Animal

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