Current methodological designs of fMRI studies of panic disorder: can data be compared?

ABSTRACT

Panic disorder (PD) is a pluridimensional condition that leads to psychological suffering. Due to advances in neuroimaging techniques, important contributions have been made in the understanding of the neurobiological basis of PD. However, because of diverging research designs and protocols, more conclusive data concerning the neurocircuitry of PD remain difficult to achieve. To address this issue, a bibliographical search was performed using the Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science and Medline/PubMed databases. Fifteen articles were found, and their research methodology including sample, comorbidity, gender, and pharmacological criteria were explored. Although current functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of PD constitute fundamental tools for health sciences, more uniform research protocols must be implemented to provide more consistent and conclusive data concerning the neural substrates of PD.