The cerebellum and anxiety

Chin, Pei Wern; Augustine, George J

doi:10.3389/fncel.2023.1130505

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 125 publications

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“…Specifically, the lower nodal degree in the left cerebellum of the structural connectome, the worse behaviors exhibited in dogs with anxiety disorders. This result is consistent with recent studies both in humans and animals that illustrates that the cerebellum plays a crucial role in fear and anxiety-related behaviors 91 , 108 – 110 . Structural and functional abnormalities in the cerebellum may lead to the expression of exacerbated fear and anxiety-related behaviors toward situations that do not suppose a real threat 89 , 111 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Structural connectome alterations in anxious dogs: a DTI-based study

Chen

Christiaen

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Anxiety and fear are dysfunctional behaviors commonly observed in domesticated dogs. Although dogs and humans share psychopathological similarities, little is known about how dysfunctional fear behaviors are represented in brain networks in dogs diagnosed with anxiety disorders. A combination of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and graph theory was used to investigate the underlying structural connections of dysfunctional anxiety in anxious dogs and compared with healthy dogs with normal behavior. The degree of anxiety was assessed using the Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a widely used, validated questionnaire for abnormal behaviors in dogs. Anxious dogs showed significantly decreased clustering coefficient ($${C}_{p}$$ C p ), decreased global efficiency ($${E}_{glob}$$ E glob ), and increased small-worldness (σ) when compared with healthy dogs. The nodal parameters that differed between the anxious dogs and healthy dogs were mainly located in the posterior part of the brain, including the occipital lobe, posterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, mesencephalon, and cerebellum. Furthermore, the nodal degree ($${K}_{i}$$ K i ) of the left cerebellum was significantly negatively correlated with “excitability” in the C-BARQ of anxious dogs. These findings could contribute to the understanding of a disrupted brain structural connectome underlying the pathological mechanisms of anxiety-related disorders in dogs.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Structural connectome alterations in anxious dogs: a DTI-based study

Chen

Christiaen

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…IC-GM 7 includes instead regions of the cerebellum, which, despite its typical role in motor functions, has being more and more investigated in different cognitive and emotional processes, leading to an extension and rede nition of its traditional roles towards new ones, ranging from emotion regulation and impulsive decision making inhibition to working memory and attention 43 . Studies performed in both rodents and humans have found the cerebellum to be involved in many psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders, in which it tends to show an hyperactivation 43,44 . Research on fear and anxiety-related disorders connects the cerebellum to processes of aversive stimuli-related prediction, in particular to the use of threatening/anxious memories which lead to the attribution of aversiveness and harmfulness to the new faced situation/stimulus 45 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fronto-parietal and cerebellar circuits characterise individuals with high trait anxiety: a parallel ICA and Random Forest approach

Baggio,

Grecucci,

Crivello

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Anxiety is a diffuse condition that can range from mild to more severe manifestations, including proper anxiety disorders. Specific sensitive periods such as adolescence and young adulthood are particularly vulnerable to anxious states and may favour the onset of future anxiety disorders. Until now, neuroanatomical research on anxiety has focused mainly on adults, employed univariate inference-based approaches, and considered one single neuroimaging modality, thus leading to an incomplete picture. The aim of the present study is to characterize the joint GM-WM contribution in high versus low trait anxiety, in a large sample of young individuals, exploiting a data fusion machine learning technique known as Parallel ICA, and to build a predictive model of trait anxiety based on a Random Forest classifier. Additionally, we aimed to characterize high anxiety individuals for their usage of maladaptive coping strategies, and other affective dimensions such as anger, impulsivity, and stress, and to test their relevance in predicting new cases of high trait anxiety. At the neural level we found a fronto-parieto-cerebellar network to have a decrease gray matter concentration in high anxious individuals, and a parieto-temporal network to have an increase white matter concentration in high anxious individuals. Additionally, at the psychological level, individuals with high anxiety are characterized by higher stress, cognitive and motor impulsivity, and avoidance/emotional coping. Lastly, the Random Forest classifier robustly confirmed the goodness of the morphometric and psychological factors in predicting new cases of trait anxiety. As such, these findings may pave the road for the creation of an early biomarker of trait anxiety in young individuals, contributing to an early intervention to prevent the future development of anxiety disorders.

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“…The relationship between cerebellar and affective functioning is increasingly appreciated in the clinical literature, indicating cerebellar involvement in disorders such as attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders and importantly, cerebellar dysfunction is the mechanism underlying the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (Baek et al, 2022; Depping et al, 2018; Ke et al, 2016; Liao et al, 2010; Phillips et al, 2015; Schmahmann and Sherman, 1998). Several of these disorders have an anxiety component, although this may be bidirectional and topographically mediated (Chin and Augustine, 2023). In rodent models, lesions of the cerebellar vermis have been found to increase anxiety-like behavior (Bobée et al, 2000; Supple et al, 1987), and other areas have no effect on anxiety behaviors indicating that not all cerebellar cortices influence anxiety behaviors (for review, see (Chin and Augustine, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several of these disorders have an anxiety component, although this may be bidirectional and topographically mediated (Chin and Augustine, 2023). In rodent models, lesions of the cerebellar vermis have been found to increase anxiety-like behavior (Bobée et al, 2000; Supple et al, 1987), and other areas have no effect on anxiety behaviors indicating that not all cerebellar cortices influence anxiety behaviors (for review, see (Chin and Augustine, 2023). Models of either purkinje cell neurodegeneration (Spinocerebellar ataxia rodent model) or total purkinje cell loss (Lurcher mouse) in the cerebellum have largely been found to exhibit anxiolytic behavior (Boy et al, 2009; Hilber et al, 2004; Lorivel et al, 2010; Monnier and Lalonde, 1995); however, some anxiogenic behaviors have been reported (Kelp et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Exposure Alters Adult Exploratory and Affective Behaviors, and CerebellarGrin2BExpression in C57BL/6J Mice

Healey

Waters

Knight

et al. 2023

Preprint

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More than 90% of alcohol consumption by young people is in the pattern binge drinking. During adolescence, the brain undergoes maturational changes that influence alterations in behavior control, affective behaviors, and cerebellar brain volume and function in adulthood. We investigated long-term impacts of adolescent binge alcohol exposure on affective behaviors and cerebellar gene expression in male and female mice. We exposed C57BL/6J mice to adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) or air (control) vapor inhalation from postnatal day 28-42. After prolonged abstinence, in young adulthood we assessed behavior in the open field, light/dark, tail suspension, and forced swim stress tests to determine changes in affective behaviors including anxiety-like, depressive-like, and stress reactivity behavior. mRNA levels of FMR1 and other interacting gene expressions (Grin2a, Grin2B, Grm5, PSD-95, and Eaat1) were measured in the cerebellum of control and adult AIE-exposed mice. In adult AIE-exposed mice, we show decreased movement in the open field in both sexes and modest changes in females in anxiety-like behavior (center zone activity). In the forced swim stress test, adult AIE-exposed male mice spent less time immobile compared to their same-sex controls, indicative of sex-specific changes in stress reactivity. Male and female AIE-exposed mice showed increased Grin2B mRNA expression in the adult cerebellum compared to their same-sex controls. Together, these data show that adolescent binge-like ethanol exposure altered affective behaviors and modified Grin2B expression in adulthood. This indicates the cerebellum may serve as an important brain region that is susceptible to long-term molecular changes with adolescent alcohol exposure.

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The cerebellum and anxiety

Cited by 16 publications

References 125 publications

Structural connectome alterations in anxious dogs: a DTI-based study

Structural connectome alterations in anxious dogs: a DTI-based study

Fronto-parietal and cerebellar circuits characterise individuals with high trait anxiety: a parallel ICA and Random Forest approach

Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Exposure Alters Adult Exploratory and Affective Behaviors, and CerebellarGrin2BExpression in C57BL/6J Mice

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