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Anxious individuals shift emotion control from lateral frontal pole to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Psychology

Anxious individuals shift emotion control from lateral frontal pole to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

B. Bramson, S. Meijer, et al.

This research explores the intricate workings of emotional behavior control in highly anxious individuals, revealing vulnerabilities in the brain circuits responsible for such control. Conducted by Bob Bramson, Sjoerd Meijer, Annelies van Nuland, Ivan Toni, and Karin Roelofs, the study uncovers how anxious participants exhibit unique neural characteristics that impede their emotional action control, offering insightful implications for understanding anxiety disorders.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
Anxious individuals struggle with emotional behavior control, hindering exposure-based learning due to excessive avoidance. This study investigates the lateral frontopolar cortex (FPI), a key region for emotional action control, in highly anxious individuals. Using MRS, DWI, and fMRI, researchers found that anxious participants exhibit overexcitable FPI (higher GABA/glutamate ratio) and stronger amygdalofugal projections. However, during emotional action control, they failed to recruit FPI, instead relying on dorsolateral and medial prefrontal areas. This shift is proportional to FPI excitability and amygdala connection strength, revealing circuit-level vulnerabilities and a neural bottleneck in emotional action control.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Aug 12, 2023
Authors
Bob Bramson, Sjoerd Meijer, Annelies van Nuland, Ivan Toni, Karin Roelofs
Tags
anxiety
emotional control
lateral frontopolar cortex
amygdala
neural circuitry
GABA/glutamate ratio
fMRI

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