PET STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF PCT FOR PANIC DISORDER ON BRAIN FUNCTION

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. A number of neuroimaging studies have now shown that patients with anxiety disorder, including those with panic disorder, show a reduction in PFC activity during acute anxiety and fear. In particular, a subregion of PFC, the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), seems prone to this phenomenon. In the present proposed pilot study we will use PET scans first to demonstrate that compared to normal controls, patients with panic disorder show decreased activity in the OFC and increased activity in the amygdala before and during the induction of a panic attack with the respiratory stimulant doxapram. Then, we will attempt to show that successful treatment of panic disorder with Panic Control Therapy (PCT) will normalize these responses during repeat PET scan and doxapram administration.