SPECT identifies possible basis of social anxiety disorder

June 5, 2008 SPECT identifies possible basis of social anxiety disorder Don Rauf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A physiological reason may explain why the shrinking violet in your family is so shy. Using brain SPECT, Dutch researchers have detected irregularities in dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitter systems in the brains of such individuals that appear to be linked to social anxiety disorder, a condition that affects an estimated 15 million adults in the U.S. and frequently leads to alcoholism and depression. Dr. Nic J.A. van der Wee, a psychiatrist specializing in anxiety disorders and psychiatric neuroimaging, and colleagues at Leiden University in the Netherlands used a binding radioactive compound (123I-β-(4-iodophenyl)-tropane) as a tracer to visualize dopamine and serotonin transporters in the brain. The procedure was performed on 12 patients diagnosed with social anxiety disorder who had not taken medication to treat the condition and 12 healthy controls.

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