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The main aim of the present study was to investigate the association between body shape concerns and electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity within body image network in a sample of university students (N = 68). EEG was recorded during 5 min of resting state. All participants were asked to complete self-report measures assessing certain psychopathological dimensions (i.e., body shape concerns, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms). EEG analyses were conducted by means of the exact low-resolution electromagnetic tomography software (eLORETA). Our results showed that body shape concerns were positively associated with increased gamma functional connectivity between the left and right prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, our data revealed that this EEG pattern was independently associated with body shape concerns after controlling for potential socio-demographic and clinical confounding variables. This finding seems to suggest that increased EEG gamma connectivity between the left and right PFC might be a relevant neurophysiological alteration involved in the development and/or maintenance of dysfunctional concerns about one’s body. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11571-020-09618-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Although previous studies have reported the association between large-scale brain networks alterations and pathological anxiety, abnormalities in the dynamic interaction among the triple network model in anxiety disorders and, especially, in trait anxiety is still poorly explored. Thus, the main aim of the current study was to investigate triple network functional dynamics in subjects with high trait anxiety during resting state (RS) through electroencephalography (EEG) connectivity. Twenty-three individuals with high-trait-anxiety (HTA) and forty-five participants with low-trait-anxiety (LTA) were enrolled. EEG analyses were conducted by means of the exact Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography software (eLORETA). Compared to LTA participants, HTA subjects showed a decrease of alpha connectivity within the salience network (SN), between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and both left and right anterior insula (AI). Furthermore, SN functional connectivity strength was negatively correlated with higher trait anxiety, even when controlling for potential confounding variables (e.g., depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms). Taken together, our results point out a specific functional connectivity pattern in HTA individuals, which consists in a dysfunctional communication within the SN, specifically in the AI-dACC pathway. This functional pattern could underline, at rest, saliency detection and brain correlates of altereted emotion regulation and cognitive control processes typically involved in anxiety.

An increasing body of experimental data have suggested that aberrant functional interactions between large-scale networks may be the most plausible explanation of psychopathology across multiple mental disorders, including substance-related and addictive disorders. In the current research, we have investigated the association between problematic cannabis use (PCU) and triple-network electroencephalographic (EEG) functional connectivity. Twelve participants with PCU and 24 non-PCU participants were included in the study. EEG recordings were performed during resting state (RS). The exact Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography software (eLORETA) was used for all EEG analyses. Compared to non-PCU, PCU participants showed an increased delta connectivity between the salience network (SN) and central executive network (CEN), specifically, between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and right posterior parietal cortex. The strength of delta connectivity between the SN and CEN was positively and significantly correlated with higher problematic patterns of cannabis use after controlling for age, sex, educational level, tobacco use, problematic alcohol use, and general psychopathology (rp = 0.40, p = 0.030). Taken together, our results show that individuals with PCU could be characterized by a specific dysfunctional interaction between the SN and CEN during RS, which might reflect the neurophysiological underpinnings of attentional and emotional processes of cannabis-related thoughts, memories, and craving.