Diffusion Tensor Imaging Studies on Chinese Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore white-matter disruption in social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and to investigate the relationship between cerebral abnormalities and the severity of the symptoms. Eighteen SAD patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls were recruited. DTI scans were performed to measure fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for each subject. We used voxel-based analysis to determine the differences of FA and ADC values between the two groups with two-sample t-tests. The SAD patient showed significantly decreased FA values in the white matter of the left insula, left inferior frontal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and left inferior parietal gyrus and increased ADC values in the left insula, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, and left inferior parietal gyrus. In SAD patients, we observed a significant negative correlation between FA values in the left insula and the total LSAS scores and a positive correlation between the ADC values in the left inferior frontal gyrus and the total LSAS scores. Above results suggested that white-matter microstructural changes might contribute to the neuropathology of SAD.

Neuroimaging in social anxiety disorder—A meta-analytic review resulting in a new neurofunctional model

“…However, one study reported globally reduced fractional anisotropy (FA, Baur et al, 2013a). Significant FA changes were detected in the left uncinate fasciculus in three studies (Baur et al, 2013a;Baur et al, 2011, Qiu et al, 2014, with one study finding no difference in the left, but reduced FA in the right uncinate fasciculus (Phan et al, 2009). In the superior fasciculus, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was reduced bilaterally in one study, which also reported reduced FA on the left side (Qiu et al, 2014), which is paralleled by another study (Baur et al, 2011).…”

“…In the superior fasciculus, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was reduced bilaterally in one study, which also reported reduced FA on the left side (Qiu et al, 2014), which is paralleled by another study (Baur et al, 2011). However, two studies found no difference in at least one side of the superior fasciculus (Baur et al, 2011 No changes in FA were reported for the inferior frontooccipital fasciculus in two studies (Baur et al, 2013a;Phan et al, 2009), while one study showed reduced ADC (Qiu et al, 2014). There is no evidence for increased FA in white matter in most of the existing studies (Phan et al, 2009, Baur et al, 2013a, Qiu et al, 2014) except for increased FA and fibre density in one study .…”

“…Three studies used ROI-based approaches (Baur et al, 2011, Baur et al, 2013a. Two used a whole brain approach (Phan et al, 2009, Qiu et al, 2014, while two others combined ROI-analyses and fibre tracking (Baur et al, 2013a;.…”

“…Significant FA changes were detected in the left uncinate fasciculus in three studies (Baur et al, 2013a;Baur et al, 2011, Qiu et al, 2014, with one study finding no difference in the left, but reduced FA in the right uncinate fasciculus (Phan et al, 2009). In the superior fasciculus, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was reduced bilaterally in one study, which also reported reduced FA on the left side (Qiu et al, 2014), which is paralleled by another study (Baur et al, 2011). However, two studies found no difference in at least one side of the superior fasciculus (Baur et al, 2011 No changes in FA were reported for the inferior frontooccipital fasciculus in two studies (Baur et al, 2013a;Phan et al, 2009), while one study showed reduced ADC (Qiu et al, 2014).…”

Diffusivity of the uncinate fasciculus in heroin users relates to their levels of anxiety

“… 23 , 24 , 25 Patients with social anxiety disorder were reported to exhibit anomalies in WM and deficits in the left insula and the left inferior frontal gyrus were associated with the severity of social anxiety. 26 At the subclinical level, individual differences in trait anxiety were also associated with WM connectivity in the left temporal cortex and the uncinate fasciculus. 27 , 28 , 29 Specific impairments were observed in the corpus callosum and the uncinate fasciculus in adolescence-onset patients.…”