title: Amygdala-cingulate intrinsic connectivity is associated with degree of social inhibition.
abstract: The tendency to approach or avoid novel people is a fundamental human behavior and is a core dimension of social anxiety. Resting state fMRI was used to test for an association between social inhibition and intrinsic connectivity in 40 young adults ranging from low to high in social inhibition. Higher levels of social inhibition were associated with specific patterns of reduced amygdala-cingulate cortex connectivity. Connectivity was reduced between the superficial amygdala and the rostral cingulate cortex and between the centromedial amygdala and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Social inhibition also modulated connectivity in several well-established intrinsic networks; higher social inhibition correlated with reduced connectivity with default mode and dorsal attention networks and enhanced connectivity in salience and executive control networks. These findings provide important preliminary evidence that social inhibition reflects differences in the underlying intrinsic connectivity of the brain in the absence of social stimuli or stressors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States. Electronic address: Jennifer.Blackford@Vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer Urbano
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Blackford
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Nashville, TN, United States.
authors.forename: Jacqueline A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Clauss
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Nashville, TN, United States.
authors.forename: Suzanne N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Avery
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States.
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States.
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Benningfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States.
authors.forename: Ross M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: VanDerKlok
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D057566:Self Report; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Anxiety; Inhibited temperament; Prefrontal cortex; Resting state; Social anxiety disorder; fMRI