Anomalous neurovascular coupling in patients with generalized anxiety disorder evaluated by combining cerebral blood flow and functional connectivity strength

Yuyan Chen; Qian Cui; Wei Sheng; Qin Tang; Fengmei Lu; Yajing Pang; Xiaoyu Nan; Zongling He; Di Li; Ting Lei; Huafu Chen

doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110379

Anomalous neurovascular coupling in patients with generalized anxiety disorder evaluated by combining cerebral blood flow and functional connectivity strength

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021 Dec 20:111:110379. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110379. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Authors

Yuyan Chen¹, Qian Cui², Wei Sheng¹, Qin Tang¹, Fengmei Lu¹, Yajing Pang³, Xiaoyu Nan⁴, Zongling He¹, Di Li¹, Ting Lei⁴, Huafu Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
² School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: qiancui26@gmail.com.
³ School of Electrical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
⁴ School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
⁵ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation; High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital to Army Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: chenhf@uestc.edu.cn.

PMID: 34111495
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110379

Abstract

Coupling between neuronal activity and blood perfusion is termed neurovascular coupling, and it provides a new mechanistic perspective into understanding numerous brain diseases. Although abnormal brain activity and blood supply have been separately reported in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), whether anomalous neurovascular coupling would still be presented in such disease is hitherto unknown. In this study, the neuronal activity and blood supply were measured using the functional connectivity strength (FCS) and cerebral blood flow (CBF). The voxel-wise CBF-FCS correlations and CBF/FCS ratio were separately used to assess global and local neurovascular coupling in participants. Patients with GAD showed decreased voxel-wise CBF-FCS correlation, implicating global neurovascular decoupling. They also exhibited increased CBF/FCS ratio in the right superior parietal gyrus (SPG), and the enhanced CBF/FCS ratio in this region was negatively correlated with the self-esteem scores of GAD. The abnormal neurovascular coupling of GAD may indicate the disrupted balance between the intrinsic functional organization of the brain and corresponding blood perfusion of patients, and the abnormally increased local neurovascular coupling of the right SPG may be correlated with the abnormal self in GAD. These findings provide new information in understanding the brain dysfunction and abnormal cognition of GAD from the perspective of neurovascular coupling.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02888509.

Keywords: Cerebral blood flow; Functional connectivity strength; Generalized anxiety disorder; Neurovascular coupling; Resting state.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety Disorders / physiopathology*
Brain / physiopathology*
Cerebrovascular Circulation / physiology*
Cognition
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neurovascular Coupling / physiology*
Parietal Lobe / physiopathology

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02888509