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The verbal nature of worry in generalized anxiety - Insights from the brain.pdf (1.03 MB)

The verbal nature of worry in generalized anxiety: Insights from the brain

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 12:28 authored by Elena Makovac, Jonathan Smallwood, David R Watson, Frances Meeten, Hugo CritchleyHugo Critchley, Cristina Ottaviani
Background: The Cognitive Avoidance Theory of Worry argues that worry is a cognitive strategy adopted to control the physiological arousal associated with anxiety. According to this theory, pathological worry, as in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), is verbal in nature, negative and abstract, rather than concrete. Neuroimaging studies link the expression of worry to characteristic modes of brain functional connectivity, especially in relation to the amygdala. However, the distinctive features of worry (verbal, abstract, negative), and their relationship to physiological arousal, have not so far been mapped to brain function. Methods: We addressed this omission by undertaking a resting-state functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging study of 19 patients with GAD and 21 controls, before and after induction of perseverative cognitions, while measuring emotional bodily arousal from heart rate (HR). Seed-based analyses quantified brain changes in whole brain functional connectivity from the amygdala. Results: In GAD, the induction increased negative thoughts and their verbal content. In line with predictions, the verbal expression of worry in GAD was associated with higher HR at baseline and attenuated HR increases after induction of perseverative cognitions. Within brain, the increased use of words during worry, and the associated dampening of HR after induction were mediated by the strength of functional connectivity between the amygdala and default mode network ‘hubs’ and the opercular cortex. The negative content of worry was further related to functional communication between amygdala and cingulo-opercular and temporal cortices. Conclusions: Findings provide a neurobiological basis for the impact of verbal worry on HR in GAD.

Funding

Young Researcher Grant; Italian Ministry of Health; GR2011-02348232

Young Researcher Grant; Italian Ministry of Health; GR2010-2312442

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

NeuroImage: Clinical

ISSN

22131582

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

17

Page range

882-892

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-03-14

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-03-14

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-03-14

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