fMRI amygdala activation during a spontaneous panic attack in a patient with panic disorder

World J Biol Psychiatry. 2007;8(4):269-72. doi: 10.1080/15622970701216673.

Abstract

Previous studies on neuronal activation correlates of panic attacks were mostly based on challenge tests, sensory-related stimulation or fear conditioning in healthy subjects. In the present study, we report on a female patient with panic disorder experiencing a spontaneous panic attack under an auditory habituation paradigm in the last stimulation block with sine tones captured with fMRI at 3T. The panic attack was associated with a significantly increased activity in the right amygdala. This is the first report on neuronal activation correlates of a spontaneous panic attack in a patient with panic disorder as measured by fMRI, which lends further support to a pivotal role of the amygdala in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Amygdala / pathology*
  • Anxiety / pathology
  • Brain Mapping
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Panic Disorder / pathology*
  • Personality Inventory