Previous studies have reported that patients with panic disorder (PD) exhibited an aberrant level of GABA concentration, an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human brain. However, it remains substantially unclear whether the inhibitory function regarding the neurophysiological characteristics is altered in this disease. Sensory gating (SG) is considered as an automatic inhibitory function in the sensory cortex. In addition, brain's gamma oscillation within the sensory cortex is another index to reflect inhibitory function. Here we aimed to investigate whether the patients with PD showed altered inhibitory function in the somatosensory system, including the primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortices. A total of 20 healthy controls and 21 patients with PD underwent magnetoencephalographic recordings. Paired-pulse and single-pulse paradigms were used to study SG and gamma oscillations, respectively. There were no significant between-group differences in the SG function in the SI and SII. However, patients with PD demonstrated a reduced gamma power in the SI. Among the healthy individuals, strong associations between SG ratios and gamma frequency values were observed in the SI. However, such a functional relationship disappeared among the patients with PD. We suggested the reduced coupling of SG and gamma oscillation as one of the neural signatures in PD.

中文翻译：

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恐慌症中体感门控和伽马振荡的耦合减少

先前的研究报告称，恐慌症 (PD) 患者表现出异常水平的 GABA 浓度，这是人脑中的一种抑制性神经递质。然而，关于神经生理学特征的抑制功能是否在该疾病中发生改变仍不清楚。感觉门控 (SG) 被认为是感觉皮层中的一种自动抑制功能。此外，大脑感觉皮层内的伽马振荡是反映抑制功能的另一个指标。在这里，我们旨在调查 PD 患者是否在体感系统中表现出改变的抑制功能，包括初级 (SI) 和次级 (SII) 体感皮层。共有 20 名健康对照者和 21 名 PD 患者接受了脑磁图记录。成对脉冲和单脉冲范式分别用于研究 SG 和伽马振荡。SI 和 SII 的 SG 功能没有显着的组间差异。然而，PD 患者在 SI 中表现出降低的伽马功率。在健康个体中，在 SI 中观察到 SG 比率和伽马频率值之间的强关联。然而，这种功能关系在 PD 患者中消失了。我们建议将 SG 和伽马振荡的减少耦合作为 PD 的神经特征之一。在 SI 中观察到 SG 比率和伽马频率值之间的强关联。然而，这种功能关系在 PD 患者中消失了。我们建议将 SG 和伽马振荡的减少耦合作为 PD 的神经特征之一。在 SI 中观察到 SG 比率和伽马频率值之间的强关联。然而，这种功能关系在 PD 患者中消失了。我们建议将 SG 和伽马振荡的减少耦合作为 PD 的神经特征之一。