COVID-19大流行公众焦虑反应与基线杏仁核亚区体积关系的磁共振研究

A magnetic resonance imaging study of the relationship between public anxiety reactivity related to the COVID-19 pandemic and baseline amygdala subregion volume

目的:分析新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)疫情大流行前后个体的焦虑水平变化,以及基线期(COVID-19大流行前)杏仁核亚区体积与大流行前后个体焦虑水平的关系。方法:采用纵向随访研究,收集40名健康青年人疫情大流行期间的状态-特质焦虑问卷(STAI)。这些被试均具备基线(大流行前)脑影像数据和日常焦虑评分。采用广义线性混合模型分析基线杏仁核亚区体积与大流行前后焦虑得分及变化率的关系。结果:COVID-19大流行期间个体的状态焦虑水平较大流行之前明显增高(t=-2.584,P=0.014)。基线期杏仁核的左侧中央核(F=6.197,P=0.018)和内侧核(F=6.753,P=0.014)亚区体积越大,大流行前后状态焦虑水平变化率越小,且此相关性在青年女性中更为明显。结论:杏仁核亚区体积与重大压力事件(如当前的全球健康危机)引起的个体焦虑水平变化显著相关。这有助于我们理解焦虑易感性的神经生物学基础,并可能对开发有针对性的心理和临床干预措施提供信息。

Objective:To analyze the changes in anxiety status of individuals before and after COVID-19 pandemic,as well as the relationship between the baseline(before COVID-19 pandemic)amygdala subnuclei volume and the changes in anxiety status of individuals before and after COVID-19 pandemic.Methods:The State Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI)was collected from 40 healthy young adults during the pandemic using a longitudinal follow-up study.Baseline brain imaging data and daily anxiety scores were obtained prior to the pandemic.The relationship between baseline amygdala subregion volume and anxiety scores and change rates before and after the pandemic were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model.Results:Compared with the score before the pandemic,the STAI-S score of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic increased significantly(t=-2.584,P=0.014).The larger volume of the left central nucleus(F=6.197,P=0.018)and medial nucleus(F=6.753,P=0.014)of the amygdala at baseline,the smaller the change rate of state anxiety before and after the pandemic.Furthermore,the correlation was more obvious in young women.Conclusion:The amygdala subregion volume was significantly associated with changes in individual anxiety levels caused by major stressful events,such as the current global health crisis.This may help us understand the neurobiological basis of anxiety susceptibility and provide information for the development of targeted psychological and clinical interventions.