Negative Valence Processing in Social Anxiety
Using Facial Expressions to Characterize Patterns of Negative Valence Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder through fMRI of the Human Brain
Andy C. Silva, Sadie J. Zacharek, and John D.E. Gabrieli
The McGovern Institute for Brain Research
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Central Florida
Abstract:
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) also referred to as social phobia, is one of the most common psychiatric disorders worldwide. It is characterized by intense fear and avoidance of social situations caused by fear of evaluation and scrutiny by others, causing a negative impact in daily life. Central to understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying SAD is the study of Negative Valence Systems (NVS), which are neural systems “primarily responsible for responses to aversive situations or contexts, such as fear, anxiety, and loss,” (NIMH, 2023). This study investigates the role of NVS in individuals with SAD by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine patterns of brain activation during the processing of negative emotional stimuli. The study utilized a face-matching task that presented angry, happy, fearful, and neutral emotional expressions to delineate the brain regions activated in response to negative valence in SAD patients compared to healthy controls. Participants included 24 individuals diagnosed with SAD and 24 controls, all scanned in a 3 Tesla MRI. The fMRI data were processed to correct spatial normalization and motion. The results revealed significant activation in the amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate gyrus, and temporal sulcus during the processing of these emotional stimuli. However, due to the limited sample size, no statistically significant differences were observed between the SAD and control groups in these regions of interest. These findings highlight the relevance of NVS in SAD and suggest that larger sample sizes are needed in future studies to detect between-group differences and to further elucidate the neural mechanisms involved in SAD.
Silva, A. C.; Zacharek, S. J.; Gabrieli, J. D. (2024, November). Using Facial Expressions to Characterize Patterns of Negative Valence Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder through fMRI of the Human Brain. Poster presented at 2024 ABRCMS, Pittsburgh, PA.
