Structural connectome alterations in anxious dogs: a DTI-based study.

ABSTRACT: Anxiety and fear are dysfunctional behaviors commonly observed in domesticated dogs. Although dogs and humans share psychopathological similarities, little is known about how dysfunctional fear behaviors are represented in brain networks in dogs diagnosed with anxiety disorders. A combination of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and graph theory was used to investigate the underlying structural connections of dysfunctional anxiety in anxious dogs and compared with healthy dogs with normal behavior. The degree of anxiety was assessed using the Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a widely used, validated questionnaire for abnormal behaviors in dogs. Anxious dogs showed significantly decreased clustering coefficient ([Formula: see text]), decreased global efficiency (

SUBMITTER: Chen Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10279662 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature