ABSTRACT
It is possible and perhaps even likely that most psychiatric conditions are disorders of the brain. Although psychiatric illness often involves negative affect and emotional dysregulation, this is particularly true for anxiety disorders such as social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder (SAD). In recent years there have been great advances in our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of human fear and anxiety. Brain imaging techniques, in particular, have provided unique tools with which to explore neuronal activity in the living human brain during emotionally activated states. In this chapter, we review neuroimaging research pertaining to SAD, focusing mainly on functional imaging studies. The review is preceded by a brief description of the functional neuroanatomy of anxiety as well as common neuroimaging techniques and paradigms used in this field.
