Cerebral blood flow and anxiety in older men: An analysis of resting anterior asymmetry and prefrontal regions
Introduction
Asymmetric activation in anterior brain regions has been linked, both theoretically and empirically, to indices of positive and negative affect and approach and withdrawal behavior (Davidson, 1995; Fox, 1991). More specifically, results of electroencepholography (EEG) studies have identified asymmetric activation of right prefrontal cortex during negative-withdrawal emotions such as anxiety and disgust and greater asymmetric left frontal activation during positive-approach emotions such as happiness (Davidson, Ekman, Saron, Senulis, & Friesen, 1990; Petruzzello & Tate, 1997), although findings have been inconsistent (Collet & Duclaux, 1987; Hagemann, Naumann, Becker, Maier, & Bartussek, 1998; Waldstein et al., 2000). According to this model, anxiety is an emotion characterized by negative affective valence, withdrawal behavior, and asymmetric activation of right prefrontal cortex.
Individual differences in resting anterior asymmetries have also been studied as a biological marker of dispositional tendencies to experience positive-approach (e.g., happiness) or negative-withdrawal (e.g., anxiety) emotions. In some, though not all (for review, see Hagemann et al., 1998) investigations, a pattern of resting EEG asymmetry favoring left prefrontal cortex has been associated with a predisposition to experience positive-approach emotions, whereas greater resting EEG asymmetry in the right prefrontal region has related to the propensity to experience negative-withdrawal emotions (Davidson & Fox, 1989; Fox, 1991; Petruzzello & Tate, 1997; Schmidt, 1999; Tomarken, Davidson, & Henriques, 1990; Tomarken, Davidson, Wheeler, & Doss, 1992; Wheeler, Davidson, & Tomarken, 1993). Investigations that have focused on anxiety per se have been similarly mixed (Heller, Nitschke, Etienne, & Miller, 1997; Petruzzello & Tate, 1997).
Research has also assessed the relation between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and anxiety. Because rCBF measures provide better spatial resolution than do EEG measures, such studies may further delineate the role of the prefrontal cortex (and other brain regions) in anxiety. To our knowledge, prior studies have not examined resting perfusion in specific prefrontal regions (e.g., dorsolateral, medial, and orbital) as a biological marker for trait and state anxiety in normal samples. However, both increased and decreased resting perfusion has been identified in various prefrontal regions in patients with anxiety disorders (Lucey et al., 1997; Rauch, Savage, Alpert, Fischman, & Jenike, 1997; Woods, 1992).
Several investigations have also suggested potentially complex relations between rCBF and anxiety in activation studies of both normal volunteers and anxiety disorder patients. For example, results of one study indicated greater relative right frontal perfusion during the experience of anxiety in patients with anxiety disorders (Rauch et al., 1997). In contrast, global decreases in blood flow to the cerebral (including right prefrontal) cortex were found during higher levels of state anxiety in normals (Mathew, Wilson, & Tate, 1989; Rodriguez et al., 1989). Naveteur, Roy, Ovelac, and Steinling (1992) found greater relative right hemispheric blood flow (within the context of a reduced global CBF) in participants high in trait and state anxiety during both a neutral condition (exposure to everyday sounds) and a fear-eliciting condition (exposure to fear inducing sounds). However, this relation was not found within the right frontal region specifically. In addition, curvilinear (inverted U) relations between measures of anxiety and either CBF or cerebral metabolic rates have been noted (Gur et al., 1988; Reivich, Gur, & Alavi, 1983).
The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate resting CBF asymmetry in prefrontal and hemispheric regions as predictors of individual differences in trait anxiety and state anxiety following stressful provocation (measured on a separate occasion) among healthy older men. It was hypothesized that greater asymmetric resting perfusion in the right prefrontal region (and, to a lesser extent, the right hemisphere) would relate to greater trait and state anxiety. The other goals of this study were: (a) to explore the relation of average and asymmetric perfusion in three prefrontal regions—dorsolateral, medial, and orbital—to measures of trait and state anxiety and (b) to explore potential curvilinear relations between resting perfusion and anxiety. All analyses were adjusted statistically for blood pressure levels because hypertension has been associated previously with increased anxiety (Markovitz, Jonas, & Davidson, 2001) and decreased CBF (for review, see Waldstein & Katzel, 2001). Age was also controlled given previously noted associations between increased age and decreased CBF (Wilson & Mathew, 1993).
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were 30 healthy, community dwelling men (ages 55–81; 90% Caucasian; 3% African-American; 3% Asian-American; and 3% other) participating in a larger study of blood pressure, brain, and cognition (Waldstein et al., 1997). Only right-handed men were included because both gender and handedness may influence patterns of resting CBF (Blumstein, 1981; Bradshaw, 1989; George, Ketter, Parekh, Herscovitch, & Post, 1996). Medical exclusions were: self-reported history or clinical evidence of
Asymmetric CBF and anxiety
Zero-order correlations (Pearson r) between state and trait anxiety and perfusion variables are displayed in Table 2. The correlation between state and trait anxiety (r=.22) was not significant. Respective state and trait anxiety scores were regressed onto prefrontal asymmetry scores, age, and SBP in two multiple regression analyses. Results, depicted in Table 3, were all nonsignificant. Next, state and trait anxiety scores were regressed onto hemispheric asymmetry scores, age, and SBP in two
Discussion
To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relation between asymmetric resting perfusion in prefrontal and cerebral cortex and trait and state anxiety among healthy older men. It is also the first investigation to examine potential differential contributions of average and asymmetric resting perfusion in three prefrontal regions—dorsolateral, medial, and orbital—to trait and state anxiety in a normal sample. Contrary to study hypotheses, there were no significant linear
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants R29AG15112, K24AG00930, K07AG00608, Bristol–Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, Inc. the Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, a Veterans Affairs Merit Review grant, and the Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center.
References (52)
- et al.
A functional anatomy of anticipatory anxiety
Neuroimage
(1999) - et al.
Hemispheric lateralization of emotions: Absence of electrophysiological arguments
Physiology and Behavior
(1987) - et al.
Regional brain function, emotion and disorders of emotion
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
(1999) - et al.
The functional neuroanatomy of emotion and affective style
Trends in Cognitive Science
(1999) - et al.
Brain perfusion abnormalities in drug-naïve, lactate-sensitive panic patients: A SPECT study
Biological Psychiatry
(1993) - et al.
Gender differences in regional cerebral blood flow during transient self-induced sadness or happiness
Biological Psychiatry
(1996) Sympathetic control of cerebral circulation: Relevance to psychiatry
Biological Psychiatry
(1995)- et al.
Anxiety, emotion and cerebral blood flow
International Journal of Psychophysiology
(1992) - et al.
The functional neuroanatomy of anxiety: A study of three disorders using positron emission tomography and symptom provocation
Society of Biological Psychiatry
(1997) - et al.
Frontal electrocortical and cardiovascular reactivity during happiness and anger
Biological Psychology
(2000)
PET in generalized anxiety disorder
Biological Psychiatry
Beck depression inventory: Manual
Neurolinguistic disorders: Language–brain relationships
Hemispheric specialization and psychological function
Effects of yohimbine on cerebral blood flow, symptoms, and physiological functions in humans
Psychosomatic Medicine
Cerebral asymmetry, emotion, and affective style
Approach-withdrawal and cerebral asymmetry: Emotion expression and brain physiology I
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Frontal brain asymmetry predicts infant’s response to material separation
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Predictors of change in anxiety symptoms of older persons: Results from the longitudinal aging study Amsterdam
Psychological Medicine
It it’s not left, it’s right. Electroencephalograph asymmetry and the development of emotion
American Psychologist
Effects of task difficulty on regional cerebral blood flow: Relationships with anxiety and performance
Psychophysiology
Frontal brain asymmetry and affective style: A conceptual replication
Psychophysiology
Does resting EEG asymmetry reflect a trait? An application of latent state-trait theory
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Patterns of regional brain activity differentiate types of anxiety
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Cited by (9)
The influence of the tracer injection-acquisition interval on the distribution of <sup>99m</sup>Tc-ECD in the brain of laboratory cats
2013, Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and ResearchCitation Excerpt :Next to the regional differences, this global rapid clearance of 99mTc-ECD in the feline brain renders the time frame for performing the acquisitions much shorter in cats than in humans. Asymmetric uptake of 99mTc-ECD between corresponding brain regions has been reported in not only humans suffering from schizophrenia, autism, and anxiety but also in healthy humans (Sachdev et al., 1997; Lobaugh et al., 2000; Van Laere et al., 2001; Tankard et al., 2003; Burroni et al., 2008). Also in this study, asymmetric tracer uptake was present.
A study on the effect of music on college students' depression and anxiety based on big data analysis
2024, Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear SciencesPerfusion magnetic resonance imaging in psychiatry
2008, Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging