Patterns of regional brain activity differentiate types of anxiety.

Abstract

Previous studies have reported hemispheric asymmetries in brain activity in anxiety, but the direction of asymmetry has been inconsistent. A distinction between anxious apprehension (e.g., worry) and anxious arousal (e.g., panic), as types of anxiety, may account for some of the discrepancies. To test this proposition, the authors selected participants with self-reported anxious apprehension and experimentally manipulated anxious arousal. Regional brain activity was examined by recording electroencephalograms during rest and during an emotional narrative task designed to elicit anxious arousal. Overall, anxious participants showed a larger asymmetry in favor of the left hemisphere than did controls. In contrast, during the task, anxious participants showed a selective increase in right parietal activity. The results support the hypothesis that anxious apprehension and anxious arousal are associated with different patterns of regional brain activity.

Cites (5)

1. The assessment and analysis of handedness: The Edinburgh inventory
   Oldfield, R.C. · 1971 · Neuropsychologia
2. A new method for off-line removal of ocular artifact
   Gratton, Gabriele, Coles, Michael G.H, Donchin, Emanuel · 1983 · Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology
3. Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications
   Clark, Lee Anna, Watson, David · 1991 · Journal of Abnormal Psychology
4. Cerebral glucose metabolic rates in nondepressed patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder
   1988 · American Journal of Psychiatry
5. Disorders of Emotion
   Barlow, David Harrison · 1991 · Psychological Inquiry

Show all 5 references

Cited by (45)

1. Brain potentials in affective picture processing: covariation with autonomic arousal and affective report
   Cuthbert, Bruce N., Schupp, Harald T., Bradley, Margaret M., Birbaumer, Niels, Lang, Peter J. · 2000 · Biological Psychology
2. Frontal EEG asymmetry as a moderator and mediator of emotion
   Coan, James A, Allen, John J.B · 2004 · Biological Psychology
3. Regional metabolic effects of fluoxetine in major depression: serial changes and relationship to clinical response
   Mayberg, Helen S, Brannan, Steven K, Tekell, Janet L, Silva, J.Arturo, Mahurin, Roderick K, McGinnis, Scott, Jerabek, Paul A · 2000 · Biological Psychiatry
4. A modern learning theory perspective on the etiology of panic disorder.
   Bouton, Mark E., Mineka, Susan, Barlow, David H. · 2001 · Psychological Review
5. Worry: A Cognitive Phenomenon Intimately Linked to Affective, Physiological, and Interpersonal Behavioral Processes
   Borkovec, T. D., Ray, William J., Stober, Joachim · 1998 · Cognitive Therapy and Research

See all 464