title: Disrupted cortical hubs in functional brain networks in social anxiety disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The network hubs, characterized by the large number of connections to other regions, play important roles in the proper and effective transfer of information. Previous functional neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have aberrant functional connectivity. The changing pattern in functional network hubs in SAD, however, remains incompletely understood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty SAD patients and 20 matched healthy controls were recruited. Resting-state fMRI data were obtained using a gradient-recalled echo-planar imaging sequence. Whole-brain voxel-wise functional networks were constructed by measuring the temporal correlations of each pair of brain voxels and then hubs were identified by using the graph theory method. Specifically, a functional connectivity strength (FCS) map was computed in each subject and the regions with higher FCS value were considered as functional network hubs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with healthy controls, SAD patients showed significantly decreased FCS in the bilateral precuneus and significantly increased FCS in the right fusiform gyrus. Furthermore, a significantly negative correlation was observed between the FCS value in the precuneus and the illness duration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study demonstrated for the first time that disrupted cortical hubs existed in patients with SAD during resting state.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings may provide novel insight into understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying SAD.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, PR China; Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, PR China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China; Psychiatric Genetics Laboratory, Biotherapy State Key Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, PR China.
authors.forename: Yifeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, PR China.
authors.forename: Meiling
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Sciences, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300130, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenqin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhiliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China; Psychiatric Genetics Laboratory, Biotherapy State Key Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China.
authors.forename: Yajing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: School of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, PR China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China; Psychiatric Genetics Laboratory, Biotherapy State Key Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China. Electronic address: weizhang27@163.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, PR China. Electronic address: chenhf@uestc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Huafu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fusiform gyrus; Graph theory; Hub; Precuneus; Resting-state fMRI; Social anxiety disorder/social phobia