Aberrant emotion processing is a core characteristic of panic disorder (PD). Findings concerning the underlying neural pathways remain inconsistent. We applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the context of a task based on the circumplex model of affect. This model links affective states to two underlying neurophysiological systems: arousal and valence. Twenty-two healthy participants and 20 participants with PD rated arousal and valence in response to affective faces during fMRI. In healthy controls, we found that arousal modulated the hemodynamic response in the parahippocampus, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the cuneus during face perception. Valence and extreme ratings of valence modulated the hemodynamic response in temporal, parietal, somatosensory, premotor and cerebellar regions. Comparing healthy controls to participants with PD, we found that healthy controls showed a stronger modulation of the hemodynamic response during face perception associated with extreme ratings of valence in the parahippocampus and the supplementary motor area. This suggests parahippocampal dysfunction in the processing of highly valenced affective faces in PD, which may underlie aberrant contextualization of strong affective stimuli. Our findings need to be interpreted with care as they were adjusted for multiple comparisons using a liberal correction procedure.

中文翻译：

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健康和恐慌症中主观觉醒和效价的神经相关性

异常情绪处理是恐慌症（PD）的核心特征。关于潜在神经通路的发现仍然不一致。我们将功能磁共振成像 (fMRI) 应用于基于影响环模型的任务中。该模型将情感状态与两个潜在的神经生理系统联系起来：唤醒和效价。22 名健康参与者和 20 名 PD 参与者在 fMRI 期间对情感面孔的反应进行了唤醒和效价评估。在健康对照组中，我们发现唤醒调节了面部感知过程中海马旁、腹内侧前额叶皮层和楔叶的血流动力学反应。效价和极端的效价评级调节了颞叶、顶叶、体感、运动前和小脑区域的血流动力学反应。将健康对照组与 PD 参与者进行比较，我们发现健康对照组在面部感知过程中表现出更强的血流动力学反应调节，这与海马旁和辅助运动区的极端效价评级相关。这表明 PD 在处理高价情感面孔时存在海马旁功能障碍，这可能是强烈情感刺激的异常情境化的基础。我们的研究结果需要谨慎解释，因为它们使用自由校正程序进行了多重比较调整。这表明 PD 在处理高价情感面孔时存在海马旁功能障碍，这可能是强烈情感刺激的异常情境化的基础。我们的研究结果需要谨慎解释，因为它们使用自由校正程序进行了多重比较调整。这表明 PD 在处理高价情感面孔时存在海马旁功能障碍，这可能是强烈情感刺激的异常情境化的基础。我们的研究结果需要谨慎解释，因为它们使用自由校正程序进行了多重比较调整。