Projects:fMRIAnalysisAnxietyDisorder

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Objectives: 1. to explore how variants of candidate genes predict different fMRI activation patterns in selected brain regions in patients vs. controls when processing threatening stimuli 2. to combine autonomic measures, fMRI activation patterns and genetic variants reveal more specific subtypes of PD 3. to evaluate how repeated exposure to the threatening stimuli changes the fMRI pattern and possibly the electrophysiological response

Progress: The study is currently in the recruitment phase. 30 PD with Agoraphobia, meeting criteria of DSM-IV, will be recruited from the Anxiety Disorder Clinic of the CAMH and 20 healthy control subjects recruited by means of a flyer.

Key Investigators: Claudia Rothe, Peter Soros, Simon Graham, James Kennedy

Links: http://www.vepsy.com; http://www.cybertherapy.info (VEPSY: Europe based project to develop virtual reality for treatment of anxiety disorders)