Neural Correlates of Anxiety in Healthy Volunteers: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Abstract

Studies have shown that the amygdala, temporal, and prefrontal cortices play a key role in the expression of anxiety. The correlation between gray matter volume of these structures and behavioral anxiety measures was not previously investigated in healthy volunteers. The authors used voxel-based morphometry to assess the relationship between brain regional volume and anxiety. The authors found an inverse correlation between anxiety measures and cortical volume in regions of the limbic system and prefrontal cortex implicated in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. The authors suggest that volumetric variability of these regions may have a correlation with the development of an anxious personality trait.