ABSTRACT
Particular attention has been devoted to the neuroanatomy of depression and anxiety, and the prefrontal and parietal cortex, anterior cingulate, and the amygdala have emerged as critical components of dysfunctional circuitry in these conditions. This chapter discusses the controlled neuroimaging studies performed in patients with functional somatic syndromes to determine whether these conditions are associated with neuroimaging abnormalities, whether these abnormalities are similar to those of mentally ill controls, and whether the anatomical and functional changes correlate with the clinical manifestations of the functional illness. Neuroimaging methods have been extensively used to help define structural and functional abnormalities in psychiatric and functional illnesses. The neuroimaging was performed using standard techniques at the institution and the computer-generated films submitted in random order for blinded interpretation by three neuroradiologists. A consensus conference was held to reach closure regarding the number, size, and location of the identified abnormalities.
