The American journal of psychiatry
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Comparative Study
A proton MRSI study of brain N-acetylaspartate level after 12 weeks of citalopram treatment in drug-naive patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Reductions in the level of N-acetylaspartate within subcortical structures of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been reported in several studies. However, there have been, as yet, no reports regarding N-acetylaspartate levels in the prefrontal cortex of adult drug-naive OCD patients. The authors used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H-MRSI) to investigate regional N-acetylaspartate level abnormalities and changes after 12 weeks of pharmacotherapy with citalopram in drug-naive OCD patients. ⋯ These data suggest that reductions in neuronal viability occur in the frontal region of OCD patients and that these reductions may be partly reversible.
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Comparative Study
Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation and attentional bias in response to angry faces in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder.
While adolescent anxiety disorders represent prevalent, debilitating conditions, few studies have explored their brain physiology. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a behavioral measure of attention to angry faces, the authors evaluated differences in response between healthy adolescents and adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder. ⋯ Adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder show greater right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation and attentional bias away from angry faces than healthy adolescents. Among patients, increased ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation is associated with less severe anxiety, suggesting that this activation may serve as a compensatory response.