Effects of diazepam on BOLD activation during the processing of aversive faces

Autor(es)

Del-Ben, Cristina M. ^[1] ; Ferreira, Cesar A. Q. ^[1] ; Sanchez, Tiago A. ^[2] ; Alves-Neto, Wolme C. ^[1] ; Guapo, Vinicius G. ^[1] ; de Araujo, Draulio B. ^{[2, 3]} ; Graeff, Frederico G. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Div Psychiat, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Philosophy Sci & Arts Ribeirao Preto, Dept Phys & Math, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Fed Univ Rio Grande Norte UFRN, Onofre Lopes Univ Hosp, Natal, RN - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY; v. 26, n. 4, p. 443-451, APR 2012.
• Citações Web of Science: 22

Resumo

This study aimed to measure, using fMRI, the effect of diazepam on the haemodynamic response to emotional faces. Twelve healthy male volunteers (mean age = 24.83 +/- 3.16 years), were evaluated in a randomized, balanced-order, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design. Diazepam (10 mg) or placebo was given 1 h before the neuroimaging acquisition. In a blocked design covert face emotional task, subjects were presented with neutral (A) and aversive (B) (angry or fearful) faces. Participants were also submitted to an explicit emotional face recognition task, and subjective anxiety was evaluated throughout the procedures. Diazepam attenuated the activation of right amygdala and right orbitofrontal cortex and enhanced the activation of right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to fearful faces. In contrast, diazepam enhanced the activation of posterior left insula and attenuated the activation of bilateral ACC to angry faces. In the behavioural task, diazepam impaired the recognition of fear in female faces. Under the action of diazepam, volunteers were less anxious at the end of the experimental session. These results suggest that benzodiazepines can differentially modulate brain activation to aversive stimuli, depending on the stimulus features and indicate a role of amygdala and insula in the anxiolytic action of benzodiazepines. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 07/03685-3 - Neurotransmissores típicos e atípicos em transtornos neuropsiquiátricos
• Beneficiário: Francisco Silveira Guimaraes
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático