CBT and the Neural Circuits of Anxiety

To test the hypothesis that the neural circuitry of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex will respond to CBT, the impact of a course of CBT on cortical-subcortical circuitry will be tested via a case-control study in individuals entering Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services (IAPT step 3; i.e., full CBT) for anxiety disorders and individuals in waiting lists. This design leverages the naturalistic waiting times in the clinical service and does not interfere with treatment as usual. Measures of brain region-specific connectivity and emotion-related behavioural performance will be assessed through testing sessions at the University College London (UCL) Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Birkbeck-UCL Centre for NeuroImaging (BUCNI), involving computerised cognitive/psychological tasks and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The aims are to: 1. test whether this circuit responds to a course of CBT, by demonstrating disengagement of the circuit following CBT 2. relate this change in circuit function to behaviour through cognitive measures of emotional processing 3. explore the neurobiological features that distinguish patients who respond to CBT and those who do not 4. compare the data from this study to another on-going study assessing the impact of pharmacological interventions for anxiety, allowing for the comparison of neurobiological mechanisms of psychological vs. pharmacological treatments in anxiety.