fMRI studies have demonstrated increased activation of the insula and amygdala in individuals with SAD. However, these studies were all done independent of one another, and the two brain regions were treated as independent of each other. It has been demonstrated that individuals with anxiety have greater functional connectivity between the amygdala and (right) insula during the anticipation of aversive stimuli, suggesting a greater role of the insula in emotional processing of pathological anxiety.

Pomona College

The insula is deeply connected to the amygdala, and both regions display activation in response to processing negative emotional stimuli. Hyperactivity in the insula has been found in individuals with SAD, specific phobias, and PTSD.

When individuals with SAD were tasked with giving an impromptu speech about a randomly generated topic, they demonstrated an increased activation in the right insula compared to healthy controls. This hyperactivity was correlated with self-reported increases in unpleasantness, arousal, and anxiety following the anticipation of giving the speech.

Insula and SAD

The amygdala is involved in threat detection, processing of emotional stimuli, and generating a fear response to said threat or negative stimulus. Neuroimaging studies show increased amygdalar activation in individuals with symptoms of social anxiety following the anticipation of, and subsequent exposure to, aversive images (as determined by the International Affective Picture System). Additionally, individuals with SAD demonstrated hyperactivity in the amygdala when tasked with giving an impromptu speech. Increased activity in the amygdala is therefore associated with symptoms of SAD, namely the fear of aversive social situations.

Amygdala and SAD

Functional connectivity (FC) is defined as the temporal coincidence of spatially distant neurophysiological events, wherein two regions are considered to show functional connectivity if there is a statistical relationship between the measures of activity recorded for them. Extensions of this include both static and dynamic FC.

Functional Connectivity

Simmons, A. N., Stein, M. B., Strigo, I. A., Arce, E., Hitchcock, C., & Paulus, M. P. (2011). Anxiety positive subjects show altered processing in the anterior insula during anticipation of negative stimuli. Human Brain Mapping, 32(11), 1836–1846. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21154

Anxiety positive subjects show altered processing in the anterior insula during anticipation of negative stimuli (2011)

Functional Connectivity in SAD: Insula & amygdala

- The typical areas that have been subject to study are the nuclei clusters comprising the amygdalae and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) as their functionality and activation is abnormal relative to healthy controls.
   - The amygdalae constitute part of the limbic system and play a role in the emotional response to a stimulus, most notably inducing physiological reactions to fear, anger, anxiety, and aggression.
      - Hyperarousal of the amygdalae give rise to the intense emotional responses that are characteristic of BPD.
   - The PFC is a major contributor to our executive control, influencing emotional and motivational behaviors.
      - Diminished efficacy of top-down cortical modulation—wherein the brain uses models, ideas, and expectations to interpret sensory information—is observed in BPD, as misinterpretation of events often invokes the onset of a crisis. 
- Both the amygdalae and the PFC are associated with different neural networks.
   - Within the SN, a network that detects and incorporates emotional and sensory stimuli, the amygdalae are considered a subcortical node.
   - Subsections of the PFC are classified as cortical nodes in the DFN, a network involved in various functions but guessed at being the primary determinant of the neurological basis for the self.
- Abnormal neuronal connectivity of the amygdalae and the PFC may be an underlying cause of the impaired communication between the aforementioned neural networks often reported in BPD.

Functional Connectivity in BPD

- Neuroimaging studies have used changes in blood flow or chemistry to examine parts of the brain active while normal adults perform tasks.
- These studies have provided a general picture of where cognitive and emotional processing is carried out by the brain. They give hope of helping us understand how genetics and experience work together to produce the behavior patterns of the adult.
- Neuroimaging studies have examined in the brains of normal adults such processes as perception, working memory, language, spatial attention, attentional selection, arousal, and happy and sad emotional states.

Learn Before

Related