Neural connectivity during affect labeling predicts treatment response to psychological therapies for social anxiety disorder

Journal of Affective Disorders
Katherine S YoungMichelle G Craske

Abstract

Although psychological treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD) can be highly effective, many individuals do not respond to treatment. Identifying factors associated with improved outcomes can facilitate individualized treatment choices. We investigated whether patterns of neural connectivity predicted treatment responses and whether treatment type, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), moderated this effect. Participants with SAD (n = 34) underwent fMRI prior to treatment and completed implicit and explicit emotion regulation tasks. Neural connectivity measures were estimates of amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity. Treatment responder status was defined using the 'clinically significant change index' (Loerinc et al., 2015). Right amygdala-right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex connectivity during implicit emotion regulation was a significant predictor of treatment response (OR = 9.01, 95% CI = 1.77, 46.0, p = .008). Stronger inverse connectivity was associated with greater likelihood of treatment response. There were no significant neural moderators of treatment response to CBT versus ACT. The primary limitation of this work was the small sample size which restricted the power to...Continue Reading

Citations

Apr 10, 2020·F1000Research·Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam, P Michiel Westenberg
May 28, 2020·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines·Rajpreet ChahalAmanda E Guyer
Jun 12, 2020·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Golnaz Tabibnia

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