Cortical gyrification patterns associated with neuroticism in panic disorder and healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND

Several studies have demonstrated an association between neuroticism and alterations in cortical folding. However, few studies have investigated the relation between neuroticism and gyrification in panic disorder (PD) patients and healthy controls (HC).

METHODS

This study included 102 PD patients and 128 HC. Neuroticism, anxiety symptomatology, ways of coping strategies, and health-related quality of life was evaluated. Voxel-wise correlation analyses using FreeSurfer were conducted to determine the neural correlates of neuroticism related to cortical gyrification.

RESULTS

As neuroticism increased, cortical gyrification of the lingual gyrus decreased significantly in HC, whereas postcentral gyrus gyrification increased while lingual gyrus gyrification decreased in PD patients. Although lingual gyrus gyrification in HC was significantly correlated with social phobia, interoception, and agoraphobia, lingual gyrus gyrification in PD patients revealed significant correlations with emotional coping, physical functioning, and emotional role. The gyrification patterns in the postcentral gyrus was significantly correlated with excessive worry scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that increased neuroticism is associated with decreased gyrification patterns in the lingual gyrus in both HC and PD group and increased postcentral gyrus gyrification only in PD group. These gyrification alterations may influence perceived quality of life as well as high levels of anxiety in PD patients.