EVIDENCE LIBRARY
Long-term benzodiazepine use and fNIRS connectivity in older adults with anxiety
A small imaging study found altered interhemispheric connectivity without a detectable difference on its verbal-fluency performance measure.
A small imaging study found altered interhemispheric connectivity without a detectable difference on its verbal-fluency performance measure.
The measured difference
Fifty older adults with anxiety disorders participated: 31 long-term benzodiazepine users and 19 nonusers. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy measured cortical activity during a verbal-fluency task. Users showed greater interhemispheric functional connectivity.
The groups did not show significant differences in the measured behavioral performance, cortical activation, or oxygenated hemoglobin changes. Cumulative benzodiazepine dosage was not significantly associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortical activation.
Connectivity does not diagnose impairment
The authors considered adaptation of brain networks as a possible explanation. That is an interpretation of the association, not a demonstrated mechanism. Greater connectivity is not automatically evidence of damage, benefit, intoxication, or preserved functioning in every domain.
The groups were small and unequal. Technical problems also required excluding some measurement channels, and observational group selection leaves potential differences between users and nonusers. The study cannot determine whether benzodiazepines caused the imaging finding or rule out cognitive effects missed by this task. In an individual case, a research connectivity pattern cannot replace contemporaneous functional assessment.
Source paper
Original analysis of the supplied journal article, identified as PMC12949025.