Abstract
Association of pathophysiology of panic disorder has been suggested with functional and structural abnormalities in various brain regions, especially amygdala. These regions also include limbic structures (i.e., cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, insula), frontal regions (i.e., medial frontal region, orbitofrontal cortex), thalamus, hypothalamus, and brain stem. Structural magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown gray matter volume changes in these brain regions, reductions in the fronto-limbic regions and increases in the brain stem, in the patients with panic disorder compared to healthy control subjects. These volume changes were also reported to be associated with clinical measurements, such as severities of panic symptoms and anxiety, in the patient group. However, these studies have uncovered significant volume changes in other gray matter regions including superior temporal gyrus and cerebellum in the patients with panic disorder. In addition, symptomatic and epidemiological gender differences have been observed in panic disorder. Recent structural neuroimaging studies have also provided pathological evidences for these gender differences in the panic disorder. We have, here, reviewed recent studies that found structural changes in the brain of the panic disorder.
