Research Project
Neural Circuits of Heart-Brain Interoception in Anxiety Disorders
The heartbeat sends one of the most vital signals to the brain, and dysregulation between these organs is central to psychiatric illness. Using pharmacological modulation of the heartbeat (isoproterenol infusion), we examine how the brain processes cardiorespiratory signals in health and disease. In GAD, we have shown autonomic hypersensitivity and blunted vmPFC activity during adrenergic stimulation, pointing to a specific neural target for intervention.
Methods Used
- Isoproterenol bolus infusion
- fMRI
- EEG
- heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEP)
- computational modeling (active inference)
- randomized clinical trial design
Key Findings
Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) show evidence of autonomic hypersensitivity and blunted vmPFC reactivity during low-levels of cardiac sympathetic stimulation (Teed et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2022).
Key publications
JAMA Psychiatry 2022 (doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4225); Neuropsychopharmacology 2024 (doi:10.1038/s41386-024-01806-5); Trends Neurosci 2021 (doi:10.1016/j.tins.2020.09.011)
Funding source(s)
R01MH127225 (NIH/NIMH); BSF 2023143
Collaborators
- Martin Paulus (Laureate Institute for Brain Research);
- Justin Feinstein (Float Research Collective);
- Olujimi Ajijola (UCLA Cardiology);
- Charles Verdonk (IRBA, France)
- Rajesh Kumar (UCLA Anesthesiology)
- Kalyanam Shivkumar (UCLA Cardiology)
- Lin Chang (UCLA Gastroenterology)
- Arpana Church (UCLA Gastroenterology)
- Michelle Craske (UCLA Psychology)
- Rene Hurleman (University of Bonn)
- Wynn Legon (Virginia Tech University)
- Jonathan Savitz (Laureate Institute for Brain Research);
- Jamie Feusner (University of Toronto);
- Lucina Uddin (UCLA Psychiatry);
- Emily Choquette (Laureate Institute for Brain Research);
- Mark Rapaport (University of Utah);
- Ryan Smith (Laureate Institute for Brain Research);
- Jennifer Stewart (Laureate Institute for Brain Research);
- Robin Aupperle (Laureate Institute for Brain Research;
- Nicco Reggente (Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies)