Neural basis of GAD improvement following a mindfulness-based intervention and antidepressant treatment: an analysis from a randomized controlled trial.
Psychiatry research July 12, 2025 Marianna de Abreu Costa, Patrícia Bado, Maiko Schneider et al. 1 citation
Symptom improvement in generalized anxiety disorder may involve enhanced functional coupling between brain regions critical for emotional regulation, self-referential processing, and stimulus selection, particularly between the left amygdala and right orbitofrontal cortex. In a randomized trial with 20 patients, those receiving mindfulness training showed improvement linked to amygdala connectivity with the default mode and salience networks, while those on fluoxetine showed improvement linked to amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex coupling. However, no significant differences between the two treatment groups were found. Larger studies are needed to clarify treatment-specific neural mechanisms.