Targeting the IPS in Anxiety

Past research has demonstrated increases in both excitability and functional connectivity of the Intraparietal Sulcus (IPS) in anxiety. The parietal cortex is strongly connected to prefrontal regions important for attentional processes and top-down feedback during working memory manipulation and maintenance.

In this study, we hypothesized that targeting the IPS with rTMS to reduce parietal hyperexcitability would reduce anxiety. This study utilized the NPU task while subjects were given double-blinded, 1 Hz active or sham IPS rTMS. We found that rTMS reduced both fear- and anxiety-potentiated startle.

This study demonstrated that the parietal cortex may be involved with endogenous shifts in attention toward threat.