A PET provocation study of generalized social phobia.
In an investigation of the neural circuits that may mediate the subjective experience of social phobia (SP), six male patients with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of generalized social phobia watched, in the presence of a group of "communication experts," a videotape of themselves giving an impromptu talk (Exposure condition). In the control Baseline condition, they viewed a videotape of a socially competent stranger giving a talk. Regional cerebral blood flow was measured thrice under each condition. The study revealed significant deactivations from Baseline during Exposure in the right lingual gyrus (BA 18) and in the right medial frontal gyrus (BA 11); significant activations during Exposure were not observed. Deactivation of these regions may reflect a strategy of visual avoidance employed by the patients to dampen their phobic experience.
Van Ameringen
Michael
M
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3Z5. vanamer@mcmaster.ca
Mancini
Catherine
C
Szechtman
Henry
H
Nahmias
Claude
C
Oakman
Jonathan M
JM
Hall
Geoffrey B C
GB
Pipe
Beth
B
Farvolden
Peter
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology