Altered brain activation and connectivity during anticipation of uncertain threat in anxiety

In the present study, we used an emotional anticipation paradigm with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the anticipation processing of uncertain threat in anxious individuals by employing brain activation and general psychophysiological interactions (gPPI) analysis. Our findings show altered activations in dmPFC, precuneus, thalamus, and MTG; impaired connections of dmPFC-vmPFC, precuneus-FPN, precuneus-MTG, and precuneus-PHA during anticipation of uncertain threat in anxious individuals, which may be involved in estimation of, perception of, and emotional reactions to uncertain threat. All of these altered neural patterns may together contribute to pathology of anxiety. Our study also provides a new insight for neural and behavioral treatments focusing on the dmPFC-vmPFC circuit that underlies uncertainty estimation and emotion regulation in anxiety-related disorders.