scholarly journals Coping with negative mental images in social anxiety disorder: Investigating the potential benefits of image morphing

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 204380871881375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanja Vidovic ◽  
Mia Romano ◽  
David A. Moscovitch
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Image Morphing ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Potential Benefits

Negative mental imagery contributes to symptom maintenance in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Here, we investigated the effects of image morphing, a brief mental strategy designed to facilitate access to positive images. Participants with SAD and healthy control (HC) participants were randomly assigned to receive either image morphing or supportive counseling. Although initial training and 1-week daily practice were successful in equipping morphing participants across groups with the required skill, those assigned to morphing failed to demonstrate differential improvements in positive affect, negative affect, or self-perception relative to control participants during a subsequent social stress task. Ancillary analyses revealed that the number of positive details contained in retrieved or morphed images prior to the task significantly predicted the level of positive affect reported after the task, but this effect was observed only for HC participants. We discuss the need for future research to refine innovative imagery-based psychotherapeutic strategies for social anxiety.

scholarly journals Initial Maintenance of Attention to Threat in Children with Social Anxiety Disorder? Findings from an Eye-Tracking Experiment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Schmidtendorf ◽  
Arvid Herwig ◽  
Susanne Wiedau ◽  
Julia Asbrand ◽  
Brunna Tuschen-Caffier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Child Anxiety ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Attention Allocation ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Attentional biases are assumed to be a core feature in the etiology and maintenance of clinical anxiety. The present study focuses on initial maintenance of attention to threat, one of three attentional components investigated the least, particularly in child anxiety. Methods Angry and neutral facial expressions were presented in a free-viewing task, while eye-movements were recorded. Participants were N = 96 school-aged children, with n = 50 children with a clinical social anxiety disorder (SAD) and n = 46 healthy control children (HC). Prior to the task, social stress was induced in half of participating children to investigate the impact of increased levels of distress on initial attention allocation. Results The length of first fixation to angry faces in children with SAD neither differed from the length of first fixation to neutral faces nor the length of first fixation to angry faces in HC children. Furthermore, this variable was not affected by a stress induction procedure. However, children with SAD initially fixated longer on faces than HC children. Conclusion Our findings provide evidence for difficulties disengaging attention from faces. This may indicate that attention allocation is determined by the social nature of the stimuli rather than by the specific emotional valence.

The cortisol response to social stress in social anxiety disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 57-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oriana Vaccarino ◽  
Robert Levitan ◽  
Arun Ravindran
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Cortisol Response

Integrating Neurobiology and Psychopathology into Evidence-Based Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (S13) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Liebowitz ◽  
Philip T. Ninan ◽  
Franklin R. Schneier ◽  
Carlos Blanco ◽  
David L. Ginsberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Psychosocial Treatment ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Life Issues ◽  
Neuroreceptor Imaging

AbstractSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common, chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by a persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment can occur. This disorder typically appears during the mid-adolescent years and is unremitting throughout life if not properly treated. SAD presents as two subtypes: the more common and debilitating generalized form, and the nongeneralized form, which consists predominantly of performance anxiety. The majority of patients with SAD have comorbid mental disorders, including mood, anxiety, and substance abuse. No single development theory has been proposed to account for the origins of SAD, although current understanding of the etiology of SAD posits an interaction between psychological and biological factors. Risk factors include environmental and parenting influences and dysfunctional cognitive and conditioning events in early childhood. The neurobiology of SAD appears to involve neurochemical dysfunction, as evidenced by studies of neuroreceptor imaging, neuroendocrine function, and profiles of response to specific medications. Clinical trials have demonstrated that benzodiazepines and antidepressants are effective in the treatment of SAD. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are emerging as the first-line treatment for SAD, based on their proven safety, tolerability, and efficacy. Goals for ongoing future research include development of approaches to achieve remission, to convert nonresponders and partial responders to full responders, and to prevent relapse and maintain long-term efficacy.This monograph explores the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and differential diagnosis of SAD, with a focus on neural circuitry of social relationships and neurochemical dysfunction. The prevalence, rates of recognition and treatment, patterns of comorbidity, quality-of-life issues, and natural history of SAD are discussed as well as pharmacologic and psychosocial treatment strategies for SAD.

Sensitivity shift theory: A developmental model of positive affect and motivational deficits in social anxiety disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 101756 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Richey ◽  
Judson A. Brewer ◽  
Holly Sullivan-Toole ◽  
Marlene V. Strege ◽  
Jungmeen Kim-Spoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Developmental Model

scholarly journals Altered cortical-amygdala coupling in social anxiety disorder during the anticipation of giving a public speech

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1521-1529 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. R. Cremers ◽  
I. M. Veer ◽  
P. Spinhoven ◽  
S. A. R. B. Rombouts ◽  
T. Yarkoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Connectivity Pattern ◽  
Public Speech ◽  
Fmri Session

BackgroundSevere stress in social situations is a core symptom of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Connectivity between the amygdala and cortical regions is thought to be important for emotion regulation, a function that is compromised in SAD. However, it has never been tested if and how this connectivity pattern changes under conditions of stress-inducing social evaluative threat. Here we investigate changes in cortical-amygdala coupling in SAD during the anticipation of giving a public speech.MethodTwenty individuals with SAD and age-, gender- and education-matched controls (n = 20) participated in this study. During the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) session, participants underwent three ‘resting-state’ fMRI scans: one before, one during, and one after the anticipation of giving a public speech. Functional connectivity between cortical emotion regulation regions and the amygdala was investigated.ResultsCompared to controls, SAD participants showed reduced functional integration between cortical emotion regulation regions and the amygdala during the public speech anticipation. Moreover, in SAD participants cortical-amygdala connectivity changes correlated with social anxiety symptom severity.ConclusionsThe distinctive pattern of cortical-amygdala connectivity suggests less effective cortical-subcortical communication during social stress-provoking situations in SAD.

scholarly journals Repetitive Negative Thinking in Social Anxiety Disorder 2: Post-Event Processing

2016 ◽  
Vol a4 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Sluis ◽  
Mark J. Boschen ◽  
David L. Neumann ◽  
Karen Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Event Processing ◽  
Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽  
Negative Thinking

Cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) emphasize post-event processing as a prominent maintaining factor that occurs after social-evaluative events. Post-event processing involves repetitive negative thinking revolved around perceived social failure. The present review concentrates on the relevant and available empirical literature on post-event processing in social anxiety which centres on Clarke and Wells (1995) theoretical framework. Correlational and experimental studies have investigated the relationship between post-event processing and the behavioural, physiological, cognitive and affective outcomes for socially anxious individuals. The majority of study designs include those investigating post-event processing in response to social-evaluative threat, and in response to treatment. Limitations of the existing literature are discussed and suggestions for future research examining the underlying cognitive functions of post-event processing are proposed.

scholarly journals Emotional and interpersonal mechanisms in community SSRI treatment of social anxiety disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. E56-E64
Author(s):  
Lance M. Rappaport ◽  
Michael D. Hunter ◽  
Jennifer J. Russell ◽  
Gilbert Pinard ◽  
Pierre Bleau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Subsequent Reduction ◽  
Interpersonal Behaviour

Background: Affective and interpersonal behavioural patterns characteristic of social anxiety disorder show improvement during treatment with serotonin agonists (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), commonly used in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. The present study sought to establish whether, during community psychopharmacological treatment of social anxiety disorder, changes in positive or negative affect and agreeable or quarrelsome behaviour mediate improvement in social anxiety symptom severity or follow from it. Methods: Adults diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (n = 48) recorded their interpersonal behaviour and affect naturalistically in an event-contingent recording procedure for 1-week periods before and during the first 4 months of treatment with paroxetine. Participants and treating psychiatrists assessed the severity of social anxiety symptoms monthly. A multivariate latent change score framework examined temporally lagged associations of change in affect and interpersonal behaviour with change in social anxiety symptom severity. Results: Elevated agreeable behaviour and positive affect predicted greater subsequent reduction in social anxiety symptom severity over the following month of treatment. Elevated negative affect, but not quarrelsome behaviour, predicted less subsequent reduction in symptom severity. Limitations: Limitations included limited assessment of extreme behaviour (e.g., violence) that may have precluded examining the efficacy of paroxetine because of the lack of a placebo control group. Conclusion: The present study suggests that interpersonal behaviour and affect may be putative mechanisms of action for serotonergic treatment of social anxiety disorder. Prosocial behaviour and positive affect increase during serotonergic treatment of social anxiety disorder. Specifically, modulating agreeable behaviour, positive affect and negative affect in individuals’ daily lives may partially explain and refine clinical intervention.

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