Multisystem imaging of whole-body emotion circuits with total-body positron emission tomography

The goal of the TOTALBODY project is to establish the interacting biological networks supporting human emotions and their disorders across the brain and periphery using novel total-body positron emission tomography (PET) approach. The body-to-brain axis maps visceral signals onto emotions, driving complex motivated behaviours.

Negative emotions are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) Conversely, CVDs are associated with anxiety, highlighting the link between negative emotions, bodily functions, and somatic health.

Systems-level interaction between brain and peripheral organs could thus be a key pathway underlying psychiatric disorders, but it remains poorly understood.

TOTALBODY tackles this question from ground-breaking viewpoint by implementing novel total-body PET approach for measuring the physiology of the emotion circuits across the brain and body, creating an innovative multisystem biology approach for studying emotions.

We simultaneously map activity in the brain and peripheral organs during pharmacologically and psychologically induced emotions in a large sample (n=240) of healthy volunteers and patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Links between CVDs, GAD, and whole-body emotion circuit activation are mapped in a clinical study involving 300 patients with suspected CVD. The data are analysed using state-of-the art multi-organ modelling framework developed in the context of the project.

Advanced pattern recognition techniques implemented on the whole dataset (540 subjects) are used for discerning the central-peripheral pathways associated with future onset of anxiety and CVD. Anxiety and CVDs constitute a major burden for health and well-being worldwide.

This unique large-scale analysis of the central-peripheral axis of anxiety and cardiac functioning enables delineating biological and psychological mechanisms that generate the central and peripheral anxious state and burden the cardiovascular system predisposing individuals to CVD.