Amygdala hyperactivation during symptom provocation in obsessive-compulsive disorder and its modulation by distraction.

ABSTRACT: Anxiety disorders have been linked to a hyperactivated cortico-amygdalar circuitry. Recent findings highlight the amygdala's role in mediating elevated anxiety in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, modulation of amygdala hyperactivation by attentional distraction - an effective emotion regulation strategy in healthy individuals - has not yet been examined. While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging twenty-one unmedicated OCD patients and 21 controls performed an evaluation and a distraction task during symptom provocation with individually tailored OCD-relevant pictures. To test the specificity of responses, additional aversive and neutral stimuli were included. Significant group-by-picture type interactions were observed within fronto-striato-limbic circuits includi

SUBMITTER: Simon D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3984443 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature