Anxiety Disorder Research
Online ISSN : 2188-7586
Print ISSN : 2188-7578
ISSN-L : 2188-7578
Special Edition: Social Anxiety Disorder
Review of Brain Imaging Studies of Social Anxiety Disorder
Chika YokoyamaHisanobu KaiyaHisashi TaniiHiroaki Kumano
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2015 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 52-63

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Abstract
Brain imaging studies of social anxiety disorder (SAD) were reviewed. Structural brain imaging studies of SAD have shown smaller gray matter volumes of amygdala and hippocampus, as well as abnormalities of white matter of uncinate fasciculus in SAD patients. Moreover, functional brain imaging studies of SAD have consistently reported hyperactivity of the amygdala during public speaking and in responses to emotional faces. Furthermore, changes in limbic system and prefrontal cortex (PFC) have been correlated with pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Additionally, the predicted outcome of CBT has been associated with pretreatment activities of visual and prefrontal regions (i.e., dosolataral PFC, ventrolateral PFC), and not with amygdala activity. Also, resting state studies have shown dysfunctional connections between amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). These studies are suggestive of structural and functional abnormalities of the limbic system (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex)—prefrontal regions (e.g., ventromedial PFC), which are neural circuits modulating fear and anxiety.
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© 2015, Japanese Society of Anxiety Disorder
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