Heterogeneous Brain Atrophy Sites in Anxiety Disorders Map to a Common Brain Network

Figure 2

Gray matter atrophy sites in anxiety disorders map to a common neural network. The hub of this network was identified through sensitivity, specificity, and conjunction analysis. (a) Atrophy coordinates from each study () were combined into a single study-specific seed. A whole-brain connectivity map of a given seed was computed using the rs-fMRI data of 652 healthy subjects and a one-sample -test. The maps for each study were thresholded, binarized, and overlapped to identify regions of shared connectivity (the “sensitivity map”). (b) Next, maps of anxiety coordinates were compared with random connectivity maps and connectivity maps of nonanxiety disorders, yielding two specificity maps (random controlled and disorder controlled). The conjunction of our sensitivity (≥80%, 13 of 16) and specificity analyses identified a hub region in the bilateral amygdala. The connectivity pattern of the hub region across 652 healthy subjects is termed the anxiety network.

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