We aimed to investigate the recovery neuromechanism underlying the treatment efficacy in generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD). We recruited fifteen patients with GSAD and nineteen healthy control (HC) participants, all of whom underwent a baseline resting-state fMRI scan. The GSAD patients underwent an additional fMRI scan after group cognitive behavior therapy (GCBT). Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and degree centrality (DC) measures were used to examine altered regional and integrated spontaneous brain activity in group comparisons. After GCBT, ALFF of the right precuneus decreased. At baseline, the GSAD group showed higher ALFF in the left precuneus and the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and lower ALFF in the lingual gyrus compared with the HC group. The DC of the left precuneus and the MTG were attenuated and the right putamen increased in the post-treatment group. The changes in DC in the precuneus were positively correlated with changes in clinical symptom. The abnormal ALFF of the precuneus, MTG and lingual gyrus may be the neural underpinning of GSAD, whereas the neural response to symptom remission after GCBT was achieved by a rebalance within the default mode network.
Keywords: Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation; Degree centrality; FMRI; Generalized social anxiety disorder; Group cognitive behavioral therapy.
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