Browsing by Author "Hattingh, Coenraad Jacobus"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Neurobiological aspects of social anxiety disorder
    (2011) Hattingh, Coenraad Jacobus; Stein, Dan J
    This thesis investigates the functional neuroanatomy of SAD [Social Anxiety Disorder] using an activation likelihood-estimate meta-analysis (ALE meta-analysis), and explores the structural basis of SAD using a cortical thickness and subcortical gray matter volume analysis.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The structural neurobiology of social anxiety disorder : a clinical neuroimaging study
    (2015) Hattingh, Coenraad Jacobus; Stein, Dan J; Lochner, Christine; Brooks, Samantha J
    While a number of studies have explored the functional neuroanatomy of social anxiety disorder (SAD), comparatively few studies have investigated the structural underpinnings in SAD. 18 psychopharmacologically and psychotherapeutically naïve adult patients with a primary Axis I diagnosis of generalized social anxiety disorder and 18 demographically (age, gender and education) matched healthy controls underwent 3T structural magnetic resonance imaging. A manual tracing protocol was specifically developed to compute the volume of the most prominent subcortical gray matter structures implicated in SAD by previous functional research. Cortical thickness was estimated using an automated algorithm and whole brain analyses of white matter structure were performed using FSL's tract - based spatial statistics comparing fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) in individuals with SAD. Manual tracing demonstrated that compared to controls, SAD patients showed an enlarged right globus pallidus. Cortical thickness analyses demonstrated significant cortical thinning in the left isthmus of the cingulate gyrus, the left temporal pole, and the left superior temporal gyrus. Analyses of white matter tractographic data demonstrated reduced FA in in the genu, splenium and tapetum of the corpus callosum. Additionally reduced FA was noticed in the fornix and the right cingulum. Reduced FA was also noted in bilateral corticospinal tracts and the right corona radiata. The results demonstrate structural alterations in limbic circuitry as well as involvement of the basal glanglia and their cortical projections and input pathways.