Common sites of action for citalopram and cognitive-behavioral treatment of social anxiety were observed in the amygdala, hippocampus, and neighboring cortical areas, ie, brain regions subserving bodily defense reactions to threat.

Although the exact diagnostic boundaries for social phobia are difficult to determine, it can be concluded that social anxiety is a distressing problem for a considerable proportion of the general population.

An rCBF pattern of relatively increased cortical rather than subcortical perfusion was observed in the nonphobic subjects, indicating that cortical evaluative processes were taxed by public performance. In contrast, the social phobia symptom profile was associated with increased subcortical activity. Thus, the functional neuroanatomy of social phobia involves the activation of a phylogenetically older danger-recognition system.

Unguided self-help through bibliotherapy can produce enduring improvement for individuals with social anxiety disorder.

No abstract