Comorbid major depressive disorder in cognitive-behavior group treatment for social anxiety disorder: An examination of processes of symptom change.

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) typically have elevated depressive symptoms and approximately 50% also meet criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD; Beesdo et al., 2007). In the present study, we examined the relationship between social anxiety and depressive symptoms during cognitive-behavior group treatment (CBGT) for SAD.

Attention bias modification augments cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social anxiety disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) is a first-line treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, since many patients remain symptomatic post-treatment, there is a need for augmenting procedures. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the potential augmentation effect of attention bias modification (ABM) for CBGT.

Explicit and implicit self-evaluations in social anxiety disorder.

Cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) emphasize the role of explicit and implicit self-evaluations (SEs) in the etiology and maintenance of this condition. Whereas individuals with SAD consistently report lower explicit SEs as compared with nonanxious individuals, findings concerning implicit SEs are mixed. To gain a more nuanced understanding of the nature of SEs in SAD, we examined explicit and implicit SEs in two significant interpersonal domains: social rank and affiliation.

Cultural Impact on SAD: Social Anxiety Disorder among Ethiopian and Former Soviet Union Immigrants to Israel, in Comparison to Native-born Israelis.

Background: Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is linked to social norms and role expectations which are culture dependent, such as the construal of one's self as independent or interdependent in relation to others. The current study is the first to examine SAD symptoms among Ethiopian and former Soviet Union immigrants to Israel compared to a sample of native Israelis. We investigated the relationship between SAD, ethnicity and independent/ interdependent self-construals.

The link between social anxiety disorder, treatment outcome, and sleep difficulties among patients receiving cognitive behavioral group therapy.

Objective: The aim of our study was to examine the association between sleep disturbances and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Another aim was to explore the impact of cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) for SAD on co-occurring sleep difficulties.

Methods: Data were obtained retrospectively from patient files receiving CBGT for SAD.

Body image in social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder.

Body dysmorphic disorder falls under the category of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, yet research has suggested it may also be highly associated with social anxiety disorder. The current study examined body image variables among 68 outpatients with primary obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n=22), social anxiety disorder (SAD; n=25), and panic disorder (PD; n=21). Participants filled out self-report measures of body image disturbance, attitudes toward one's appearance, and anxiety.

Impression formation and revision in social anxiety disorder.

Interpersonal relations are markedly impaired in social anxiety. Yet, little is known about the ways social anxiety affects social cognition. We examined impression formation and impression revision among individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD, n = 26) and non-anxious individuals (n = 29).

Information-seeking bias in social anxiety disorder.

In the present study, we sought to examine information seeking among individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD, n = 31) and nonanxious controls (n = 32) during an impression-formation task. Participants were given an initial description of a protagonist that included polarized information on the social rank dimension (i.e.

Functional impairment in social anxiety disorder.

The present study examined functional impairment among treatment seekers with social anxiety disorder (SAD). We investigated the effects of diagnostic subtypes of SAD and comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders on impairment. In addition, we used cluster analysis procedures to empirically identify subgroups of individuals with distinct patterns of impairment.

Social rank and affiliation in social anxiety disorder.

The present study examined the interpersonal lives of individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD). According to evolutionary and interpersonal theories, we construed the interpersonal world using the social rank and the affiliation psychological systems. Two studies assessed measures of social rank, affiliation, social anxiety and depression among a population of treatment-seeking individuals with SAD.

Impact of depression on treatment effectiveness and gains maintenance in social phobia: a naturalistic study of cognitive behavior group therapy.

Background: The impact of depression on cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) for social phobia (SP) in a naturalistic outpatient setting was examined after treatment termination and at 1-year follow-up.

Methods: Consecutive SP outpatients (N=219) were diagnosed using a structured interview. CBGT was provided in 18 1.

Alteration learning in social anxiety disorder: an fMRI study.

The present study attempts to challenge the orbitofrontal cortex by using a learning paradigm which is specifically subserved by this cortical region. We implemented a version of alternation learning specifically designed for fMRI and assessed the cognitive performance and fMRI response in wide range of social anxiety disorder (SAD) severity (n=15). The main regions that were activated by the alternation learning task included portions of frontal and orbitofrontal cortex as well as the calcarine fissure.

Social phobia: maintenance models and main components of CBT.

Social phobia (SP, or social anxiety disorder, SAD) is among the most common of all psychiatric disorders. SP typically begins early in life and provokes a great deal of impairment and reduction in quality of life. Despite its high prevalence and associated impact, SP has only recently become the focus of clinical research.

Social phobia symptoms: prevalence, sociodemographic correlates, and overlap with specific phobia symptoms.

Background: Social phobia (SP) is a highly prevalent disorder in Western countries, but is rather rare in Eastern societies. Prevalence rates range from 0.5% in Eastern samples up to 16% in Western studies.

Red cell membrane omega-3 fatty acids are decreased in nondepressed patients with social anxiety disorder.

The "phospholipid hypothesis" attributes a pathophysiologic role to the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition of phospholipids in depression. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the hypothesis is relevant to social anxiety disorder (SAD). The study sample consisted of 27 untreated, nondepressed patients with SAD (DSM-IV) and 22 controls.

Involvement of GABAA receptor modulating neuroactive steroids in patients with social phobia.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester (DHEA-S), neurosteroids synthesized in the brain, are weak gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) A receptor allosteric antagonists that may be involved in anxiety disorders. In the present study we measured the circulatory [corrected] levels of DHEA, DHEA-S, pregnenolone and cortisol in [corrected] untreated patients (n=26) diagnosed with social phobia (SP) compared with sex- and age-matched healthy controls (n=21). No significant differences in neurosteroids were observed in [corrected] untreated SP patients and [corrected] compared with healthy controls.

Platelet vesicular monoamine transporter density in untreated patients diagnosed with social phobia.

The vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2) is important in the storage and release of monoamines. Platelet VMAT2 was characterized using high-affinity [(3)H]dihydrotetrabenazine ([(3)H]TBZOH) binding in untreated social phobia (SP) patients (n=20) compared with sex- and age-matched healthy controls (n=15). No significant differences in VMAT2 density (B(max)) and affinity constants (K(d)) were observed.

Expressed emotion: relevance to rehospitalization in schizophrenia over 7 years.

Expressed emotion (EE) is an established factor in short-term relapse in schizophrenia. However, data on its long-term predictive ability are scarce. We extended our short-term investigation over 7 years' followup.

Serotonin uptake to lymphocytes of patients with social phobia compared to normal individuals.

Several trials have indicated that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are most efficient in the treatment of social phobia (SP). The activity of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT), as determined by [3H]5-HT uptake to blood lymphocytes, was measured in 15 drug-free patients with generalized SP (7M/8F, aged 21-37 years) and compared to 18 healthy control subjects (10M/8F, aged 21-32 years). The maximum uptake velocity (Vmax) of [3H]5-HT to fresh lymphocytes and the affinity (Km) of the 5-HTT were similar in the two groups (295+/-155 versus 227+/-117 pmol/min/mg protein and 767+/-425 versus 709+/-408 nM, respectively).

The effects of social anxiety and depression on the evaluation of facial crowds.

Facial crowds of emotion connoting approval or criticism are linked to the fears of socially anxious individuals. We examined evaluation ratings and decision latencies of mixed facial displays by individuals with generalized social phobia (GSPs, n = 18), individuals with comorbid depression and GSP (COMs, n = 18), and normal controls (CONs, n = 18). First, we postulated that GSPs will assign more negative ratings to predominantly disapproving audiences as compared to CONs, and that GSPs will be faster in their evaluation of these audiences (negative bias hypothesis).

Musical hallucinations: prevalence in psychotic and nonpsychotic outpatients.

Background: Musical hallucinations have been considered a rare manifestation of psychotic states or brain and hearing abnormalities. However, an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) assessment tool refers to musical hallucinations and our preliminary study showed that about one third of OCD patients experienced musical hallucinations.

Aims: To elucidate the lifetime prevalence of musical hallucinations among psychotic and nonpsychotic psychiatric outpatients.

Depression impairs the ability to ignore the emotional aspects of facial expressions: Evidence from the Garner task.

We assessed dysphoric and clinically distressed individuals' ability to ignore the emotional aspects of facial expressions using the Garner speeded-classification task. Garner's paradigm tests the ability to selectively focus on a single relevant dimension while ignoring variations on other, irrelevant, ones. In the present task, the stimuli were faces of men and women expressing happy, angry, and neutral emotions.