ENIGMA-anxiety working group: Rationale for and organization of large-scale neuroimaging studies of anxiety disorders
Bas-Hoogendam JM., Groenewold NA., Aghajani M., Freitag GF., Harrewijn A., Hilbert K., Jahanshad N., Thomopoulos SI., Thompson PM., Veltman DJ., Winkler AM., Lueken U., Pine DS., van der Wee NJA., Stein DJ., Agosta F., Åhs F., An I., Alberton BAV., Andreescu C., Asami T., Assaf M., Avery SN., Nicholas L., Balderston None., Barber JP., Battaglia M., Bayram A., Beesdo-Baum K., Benedetti F., Berta R., Björkstrand J., Blackford JU., Blair JR., Karina S., Blair None., Boehme S., Brambilla P., Burkhouse K., Cano M., Canu E., Cardinale EM., Cardoner N., Clauss JA., Cividini C., Critchley HD., Udo None., Dannlowski None., Deckert J., Demiralp T., Diefenbach GJ., Domschke K., Doruyter A., Dresler T., Erhardt A., Fallgatter AJ., Fañanás L., Brandee None., Feola None., Filippi CA., Filippi M., Fonzo GA., Forbes EE., Fox NA., Fredrikson M., Furmark T., Ge T., Gerber AJ., Gosnell SN., Grabe HJ., Grotegerd D., Gur RE., Gur RC., Harmer CJ., Harper J., Heeren A., Hettema J., Hofmann D., Hofmann SG., Jackowski AP., Andreas None., Jansen None., Kaczkurkin AN., Kingsley E., Kircher T., Kosti c M., Kreifelts B., Krug A., Larsen B., Lee SH., Leehr EJ., Leibenluft E., Lochner C., Maggioni E., Makovac E., Mancini M., Manfro GG., Månsson KNT., Meeten F., Michałowski J.
Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and disabling but seem particularly tractable to investigation with translational neuroscience methodologies. Neuroimaging has informed our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, but research has been limited by small sample sizes and low statistical power, as well as heterogenous imaging methodology. The ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group has brought together researchers from around the world, in a harmonized and coordinated effort to address these challenges and generate more robust and reproducible findings. This paper elaborates on the concepts and methods informing the work of the working group to date, and describes the initial approach of the four subgroups studying generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. At present, the ENIGMA-Anxiety database contains information about more than 100 unique samples, from 16 countries and 59 institutes. Future directions include examining additional imaging modalities, integrating imaging and genetic data, and collaborating with other ENIGMA working groups. The ENIGMA consortium creates synergy at the intersection of global mental health and clinical neuroscience, and the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group extends the promise of this approach to neuroimaging research on anxiety disorders.