Emotional processing in panic disorder and its subtypes: An fMRI study using emotional faces.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Inconsistent findings regarding the pathophysiology of panic disorder (PD) could result from clinical heterogeneity. Identifying subtypes could enhance insights into the neurobiological substrates of PD. METHODS: An emotional faces fMRI paradigm was used in a group of PD patients (n = 73) and healthy controls (n = 58). The overall PD group was further divided into three previously identified subtypes: a cognitive-autonomic (n = 22), an autonomic (n = 16) and an aspecific (n = 35) subtype. Differences in brain activity levels in response to emotional facial expressions between groups were examined for six regions of interests, namely the amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a..