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Objective To explore the characteristics of alexithymia and interoception in patients with panic disorder(PD) and its relationship. Methods Thirty-seven patients with PD and 45 healthy con-trols who met the diagnostic criteria of DSM-Ⅳ were selected. Toronto Alexithymia Scale ( TAS) and state-trait anxiety inventory ( STAI) were used to assess the characteristics of alexithymia and anxiety symptoms respectively. The heartbeat perception levels were tested by the Mental Tracking Paradigm. Results The de-tection rate of alexithymia in patients with panic disorder was 37. 83% (14/37),but the rate in the normal control group was only 4. 44%(2/45),and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=14. 42,P<0. 05). The total score of TAS (55. 11±10. 99),factor Ⅰ (20. 62±6. 78) and factor Ⅱ (14. 68±3. 70) in the PD group were higher than those in the control group (42. 93± 9. 25,12. 82± 4. 99,11. 42±3. 04; F=20. 72, 31. 08,15. 31,P<0. 01). The levels of the heartbeat perception were higher in the PD group than that in the control group (0. 75±0. 15,0. 58±0. 19;t=4. 13,P<0. 05). In PD group,the score of STAI were positively correlated with TAS total score and factor Ⅰ and Ⅱ scores( r=0. 57,0. 61,0. 47;r=0. 54,0. 62,0. 39,P<0. 05). There was no significant correlation between the scores of STAI and the level of interoception. The mediating effect of interoception level on alexithymia and state anxiety was not significant while the mediating effect on alexithymia and trait anxiety was also not significant. Conclusions The alexithymia detection rate and interoception sensitivity in patients with panic disorder were higher than those of healthy people. There may be interaction between alexithymia and anxiety symptoms. Interoception may be a clinical feature of panic disorder.
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Objective To investigate the eye-movement features of smooth pursuit in subjects at clinical high risk for psychosis.Methods sixty subjects at clinical high risk for psychosis and sixty healthy controls were recruited.The smooth pursuit tasks were assessed in both horizontal (0.4 Hz) and Lissajous (0.2 or 0.4 Hz) condition.The Wechsler Memory Scale-third edition and spatial span subtest were used to assess working memory.The difference of the smooth pursuit performance between the two groups and the relationship between smooth pursuit and working memory were analyzed.Results Subjects at clinical high risk for psychosis showed significantly lower Horizontal components for pursuit gain [Lissajous 0.2 Hz task (0.82±0.12) vs.(0.89±0.09),Lissajous 0.4 Hz task (0.78±0.13) vs.(0.84±0.14)],lower vertical components for pursuit gain [Lissajous 0.2 Hz task (0.80±0.14) vs.(0.86±0.12),Lissajous 0.4 Hz task (0.71±0.15)vs.(0.77±0.16)] and higher mean positional error [Lissajous 0.2 Hz task (37.00±19.10) vs.(30.45± 16.18),Lissajous 0.4 Hz task (44.18±19.70) vs.(37.61±16.26)] compared to healthy controls (P＜0.05).There was a significant correlation between pursuit gain and performance on Spatial Span (Horizontal components:r=0.361,P=0.005;vertical components:r=0.327,P=0.01 1) in the Subjects at clinical high risk for psychosis.Conclusions Subjects at clinical high risk for psychosis showed deficits in smooth pursuit,and the deficits were related to the working memory.
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Objective To investigate the changes of cortical thickness and relative resting state functional connectivity in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).Methods The present study analyzed structural and eyes-open resting state functional MRI were performed in 21 patients with GAD and 22 matched healthy controls.Cortical thickness was estimated with FreeSurfer.The structurally altered regions were defined as region of interest (ROI) to analyze functional connectivity (FC) using resting state functional MRI data by DPABI.Results Cortical thickness of patients with GAD were increased in right rostral middle frontal gyrus (rMFG;MNI:x =27.9,y =53.4,z =-11.1;size:241.93 mm2;FDR corrected,P ＜ 0.1) and right inferior temporal gyrus (IGT;MNI:x =49.7,y =-57.8,z =-8.7;size:138.93 mm2;FDR corrected,P＜0.1) compared with healthy controls.FC between right rMFG and right superior/middle occipital gyrus as well as well as FC between rMFG and right precentral gyrus showed decreased in patients with GAD compared with healthy controls(AlphaSim corrected,P＜0.05).FC between right rMFG and right angular gyrus showed increased in patients with GAD compared with healthy control (AlphaSim corrected,P＜0.05).Conclusion The rMFG may play an important role in the pathophysiology of GAD,which can be used as an stimuli target in physicotherapeutics to improve anxiety symptoms.