title: Evidence for alterations of the right inferior and superior longitudinal fasciculi in patients with social anxiety disorder.
abstract: The aim of our study was to detect white matter (WM) regions being involved in the pathophysiology of SAD. We applied diffusion tensor imaging in 22 consecutive adult patients (11 women and 11 men) with SAD and 22 age and sex-matched healthy control subjects. We examined white matter (WM) alterations between the patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and healthy controls by a whole-brain analysis. We found that fractional anisotropy (FA) was reduced in patients with SAD compared with controls in the temporal part of right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and the occipito-temporal part of the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). We also identified that in these regions FA was negatively correlated with the severity of anxiety. Our results suggest that the lateral temporal and occipito-temporal WM microstructure plays a role in mediating social interactions, and a pattern of WM abnormality in the right ILF and SLF may be implicated in the pathophysiology of SAD plausibly through leading to deficits in face processing mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: rtukel@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Raşit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tükel
authors.affiliation: Hulusi Behcet Life Sciences Research Laboratory, Istanbul University, Turkey. Electronic address: cigdemulasoglu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cigdem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ulasoglu Yildiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: erhanert76@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Erhan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ertekin
authors.affiliation: Hulusi Behcet Life Sciences Research Laboratory, Istanbul University, Turkey. Electronic address: elifkurt86@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Elif
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kurt
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Turkey. Electronic address: ahmet_koyu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koyuncu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology Division, Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: dr.aydink@superonline.com.
authors.forename: Kubilay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aydın
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D000072861:Phobia, Social / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Diffusion tensor imaging; Fractional anisotropy; Magnetic resonance imaging; Social anxiety disorder; White matter