Social anxiety is associated with BNST response to unpredictability

• DOI: 10.1002/da.22891
• Publication Date: 2019-04-06T11:26:07Z
• Authors: Jacqueline A. Clauss; Suzanne N. Avery; Margaret M. Benni...; Jennifer U. Black...
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Adolescent; Phobia, Social; Fear; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Animals; Humans; Female; Septal Nuclei; Cues

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and cause substantial suffering impairment. Whereas the amygdala has well-established contributions to anxiety, evidence from rodent nonhuman primate models suggests that bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) may play a critical, possibly distinct, role in human anxiety disorders. The BNST mediates hypervigilance anticipatory response an unpredictable or ambiguous threat, core symptoms social yet little is known about BNST's anxiety.Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used measure neural responses during cued anticipation task with unpredictable, predictable neutral cues followed by threat images. Social examined using dimensional approach (N = 44 adults).For cues, higher associated lower BNST-amygdala connectivity. For images, greater connectivity between both ventromedial prefrontal cortex posterior cingulate postcentral gyrus. moderated dissociation for images; > relative images.Social alterations unpredictability, particularly interactions other brain regions, including cortex. To our knowledge, these findings provide first which be potential new target prevention intervention.