Disrupted network integrity and therapeutic plasticity in drug-naive panic disorders: Insights from network homogeneity
Abstract
Background: This study intended to examine network homogeneity (NH) alterations in drug-naive patients with panic disorder (PD) before and after treatment and whether NH could serve as a potential biomarker. Methods: Fifty-eight patients and 85 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients were rescanned following a 4-week course of paroxetine monotherapy. NH was computed to evaluate intra-network functional integration across the Yeo 7-Network. Machine learning (ML) was employed to assess the diagnostic and prognostic potential of NH metrics. Transcriptome-neuroimaging association analyses were conducted to explore the molecular correlates of NH alterations. Results: Compared with HCs, patients showed disrupted intra-network integration in the frontoparietal, default mode, sensorimotor, limbic, and ventral attention networks, with prominent NH alterations in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), middle temporal gyrus (MTG), superior temporal gyrus (STG), somatosensory cortex, insular, and anterior cingulate cortex. Importantly, the SFG, MTG, and STG demonstrated cross-network abnormalities. After treatment, clinical improvement correlated with normalized NH in the SFG and additional changes in the inferior occipital gyrus and calcarine sulcus within the visual network. ML demonstrated the utility of NH for PD classification and treatment outcome prediction. Transcriptome-neuroimaging analysis identified specific gene profiles related to NH alterations. Conclusions: NH reflects both pathological features and treatment-related changes in PD, providing a measure of network dysfunction and therapeutic response. Cross-network NH disruptions in hub regions and visual processing may reflect core neuropharmacological mechanisms underlying PD. ML findings support the potential of NH as a neuroimaging biomarker for diagnosis and treatment monitoring in PD.
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The EEG spectral slope is a proxy for excitation to inhibition balance; it flattens with cortical disinhibition and steepens as inhibition strengthens.
“the EEG spectral slope, a proxy for excitation to inhibition balance, flattens with cortical disinhibition and steepens as inhibition strengthens”
From Synaptic Plasticity—Intrinsic Excitability and Antidepressant Discovery (2026) · cites this paper as [369]
The NH analysis section defines network homogeneity using resting-state connectivity, and Image acquisition and data preprocessing describes MRI scanning. Searches for EEG spectral slope, excitation–inhibition balance, and aperiodic 1/f spectra found no passage in our copy addressing whether the slope flattens with disinhibition or steepens with stronger inhibition. The retrieved passages have no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.75)
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References 53 · Cited by 3
- Authors
- Han, Y., Yan, H., Li, H., Liu, F., Li, P., Yuan, Y., & Guo, W.
- Affiliations
- Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (CN)
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital (CN)
- Qiqihar Medical University (CN)
- Zhongda Hospital Southeast University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Guo, Wenbin
- Venue
- Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2025-10-02
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1409-1419
- ISSN
- 0269-8811 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7285
- OpenAlex
- W4414756684
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 1.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82171508)
- Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin Municipality (No. 18JCQNJC10900)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Keywords
- panic disorder, network homogeneity, resting-state functional connectivity, treatment response prediction, neuroimaging biomarkers, superior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, visual network, hub regions, default mode network, anterior cingulate cortex
- MeSH terms
- Machine Learning, Adult, Brain, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Net, Biomarkers, Case-Control Studies, Panic Disorder, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Paroxetine
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