Frick Andreas, Engman Jonas, Alaie Iman, Björkstrand Johannes, Faria Vanda, Gingnell Malin, Wallenquist Ulrika, Agren Thomas, Wahlstedt Kurt, Larsson Elna-Marie, Morell Arvid, Fredrikson Mats, Furmark Tomas
Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Neurosci Lett. 2014 Nov 7;583:114-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2014.09.033. Epub 2014 Sep 26.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with altered brain function and structure, but most structural studies include small samples and findings are mixed. This study compared regional gray matter volume between 48 SAD patients and 29 healthy controls (HC) as well as the relationship between volume and symptom severity. Structural magnetic resonance images from SAD patients and HC were evaluated using standard voxel-based morphometry (VBM) processing in the SPM8 software package. Social anxiety symptom severity was rated in SAD patients by a clinician using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). SAD patients had greater regional gray matter volume in the lingual gyrus and lateral occipital cortex than the controls, and within the SAD group a positive correlation was found between symptom severity and regional gray matter volume in the lingual gyrus and the retrosplenial cortex. These findings replicate and extend earlier reports of enlarged visual processing areas in SAD. Increased gray matter volume in regions involved in visual processing and self-consciousness could underlie, or be the result of, abnormal emotional information processing and self-focused attention previously demonstrated in patients with SAD.
社交焦虑障碍（SAD）与大脑功能和结构改变有关，但大多数结构研究样本量较小且结果不一。本研究比较了48例SAD患者与29例健康对照（HC）的局部灰质体积，以及体积与症状严重程度之间的关系。使用SPM8软件包中的基于体素的形态学测量（VBM）标准处理方法，对SAD患者和HC的结构磁共振图像进行评估。临床医生使用利博维茨社交焦虑量表（LSAS）对SAD患者的社交焦虑症状严重程度进行评分。SAD患者舌回和枕外侧皮质的局部灰质体积大于对照组，且在SAD组中，症状严重程度与舌回和压后皮质的局部灰质体积之间存在正相关。这些发现重复并扩展了早期关于SAD患者视觉加工区域扩大的报道。参与视觉加工和自我意识的区域灰质体积增加可能是SAD患者先前表现出的异常情绪信息加工和自我关注的基础或结果。
