Evaluation of Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder.

Abstract

Objective: The most prominent functional magnetic resonance imaging findings about social anxiety disorder are increased activity in emotional regulation areas (amygdala, insula, hippocampus, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) and fear circuit, and altered activity in prefrontal cortex. This study aims to investigate network abnormalities during resting state.

Method: Resting state functional magnetic resonance images of 21 drug-free patients with social anxiety disorder and 21 healthy controls (matched on age, gender, and years of education) were recorded. Resting state functional connectivity networks were obtained with independent component analysis, and were compared by using the voxel based t-test between the two groups.

Results: Patients with social anxiety disorder displayed decreased intrinsic functional connectivity in the anterior component of the salience network (left orbitofrontal cortex) and increased intrinsic functional connectivity in the posterior component of the salience network (left supramarginal gyrus).

Conclusion: Most of the studies about social anxiety disorder mainly focused on fear circuit and emotional regulation areas by using anxiety provoking tasks or by using seed based analysis of functional connectivity. By applying a whole-brain independent component analysis, we found altered functional connectivity in the salience network, but no significant difference was found in the fear circuit areas. Our results suggest that abnormal connectivity in the salience network might play a crucial role in the neurobiology of social anxiety disorder.