Structural brain differences associated with panic disorder: an ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group mega-analysis of 4924 individuals worldwide

LKM Han; WB Bruin; JM Bas-Hoogendam; NA Groenewold; K Hilbert; AM Winkler; A Zugman; T Asami; JP Barber; F Benedetti; RJR Blair; J Böhnlein; P Brambilla; F Breuer; RL Buckner; R Bülow; ME Calkins; N Chechko; U Dannlowski; K Dohm; K Domschke; T Dresler; A Erhardt-Lehmann; GA Fonzo; AJ Forstner; HJ Grabe; D Grotegerd; RE Gur; RC Gur; C Harmer; D Hofmann; OA van den Heuvel; N Jahanshad; TTJ Kircher; K Koch; MA Laansma; T Langhammer; SH Lee; EJ Leehr; E Maggioni; CE Marino; S Meinert; H Meinert; B Milrod; B Mwangi; JA Nielsen; P Ohrmann; SP Pantazatos; MP Paulus; BWJH Penninx; S Poletti; A Reinecke; IC Ridderbusch; P Rjabtsenkov; PG Sämann; TD Satterthwaite; L Schmaal; E Schrammen; JC Soares; N Solomonov; MB Stein; B Straube; T Straube; B Suarez-Jimenez; JW Smoller; A Talati; SI Thomopoulos; CE Vazquez; H Völzke; K Wittfeld; MJ Wu; Y Yang; GB Zunta Soares; U Lueken; PM Thompson; DS Pine; DJ Stein; NJA van der Wee; DJ Veltman; M Aghajani

Journal article

Structural brain differences associated with panic disorder: an ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group mega-analysis of 4924 individuals worldwide

LKM Han, WB Bruin, JM Bas-Hoogendam, NA Groenewold, K Hilbert, AM Winkler, A Zugman, T Asami, JP Barber, F Benedetti, RJR Blair, J Böhnlein, P Brambilla, F Breuer, RL Buckner, R Bülow, ME Calkins, N Chechko, U Dannlowski, K Dohm Show all

Molecular Psychiatry | Published : 2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03376-4

Abstract

Neuroanatomical findings on panic disorder (PD) are typically difficult to replicate, with inconsistent effects. These concerns prompted a paradigm shift towards large-scale collaborations, focused on harmonized data extraction and processing for robust examination of PD brain correlates. Hence, leveraging the largest-ever multi-site neuroimaging database on PD (Age: 10–66 years; global sites: 28), compiled by the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group, we report on cortical and subcortical differences in individuals with PD (N = 1146) versus healthy controls (HC: N = 3778). The analyses revealed lower thickness and smaller cortical surface area within fronto-temporo-parietal regions in PD (Cohen’s ds..

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