Abstract
BackgroundPanic disorder (PD) is thought to be related with deficits in emotion regulation, especially in cognitive reappraisal. According to the cognitive model, PD patients’ intrinsic and unconscious misappraisal strategies are the cause of panic attacks. However, no studies have yet been performed to explore the underlying neuromechanism of cognitive reappraisal that occur on an unconscious level in PD patients.MethodsTwenty-six patients with PD and 25 healthy controls (HC) performed a fully-verified event-block design emotional regulation task aimed at investigating responses of implicit cognitive reappraisal during an fMRI scan. Participants passively viewed negatively valanced pictures that were beforehand neutrally, positively, or adversely portrayed in the task.ResultsWhole-brain analysis of fMRI data showed that PD patients exhibited less activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) compared to HC, but presented greater activation in parietal cortex when negative pictures were preceded by positive/neutral vs negative descriptions. Simultaneously, interactive effects of Group × Condition were observed in the right amygdala across both groups. Furthermore, activation in dlPFC and dmPFC was is negatively correlated to severity of anxiety and panic in PD when negative images were preceded by non-negative vs negative descriptions.ConclusionsEmotional dysregulation in PD is likely the result of deficient activation in dlPFC and dmPFC during implicit cognitive reappraisal, in line with impaired automatic top-down regulation. Correlations between severity of anxiety and panic attack and activation of right dlPFC and dmPFC suggest that the failure to engage prefrontal region during implicit cognitive reappraisal might be associated wtih the severity of anxiety and panic; such functional patterns might be the target of possible treatments.
Highlights
Panic disorder (PD) is thought to be related with deficits in emotion regulation, especially in cognitive reappraisal
We found that PD patients use fewer positive reappraisal but more catastrophic strategies compared to healthy controls [18]
In the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) scale, scores relating to catastrophizing and rumination were considerably greater in the PD group than in the healthy controls (HC) group, and scores relating to positive reappraisal and putting into perspective were lower in the PD group than in the HC group
Summary
Panic disorder (PD) is thought to be related with deficits in emotion regulation, especially in cognitive reappraisal. According to the cognitive model, PD patients’ intrinsic and unconscious misappraisal strategies are the cause of panic attacks. No studies have yet been performed to explore the underlying neuromechanism of cognitive reappraisal that occur on an unconscious level in PD patients. Negative emotions caused by adverse events need to be regulated to avoid interfering with ongoing activities and long-term goals [2]. Emotion dysregulation (difficulties in effectively managing one’s emotions) is closely associated with the onset, maintenance, and therapy of various types of anxiety disorders [4]. Panic disorder (PD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by the recurrence of spontaneous panic attacks with psychological, physical, and functional conditions [5]. Emotion dysregulation is considered to be a pivotal aspect in the pathophysiological mechanism of
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