Cerebral blood flow during anticipation of public speaking in XXXX : a PET study.

@entity913 @entity8493 @entity148 @entity550
BACKGROUND: The aim was to examine the neural correlates of @entity148 elicited by the anticipation of public speaking in individuals with @entity913 . Positron emission tomography and @entity8493 -water was used to measure regional cerebral blood flow in subjects with DSM-IV @entity913 during @entity148 anticipation. Heart rate and subjective @entity148 were also recorded. While being scanned, subjects were speaking alone either before or after speaking in public. To evaluate anticipatory @entity148 we compared individuals speaking alone before they were speaking in front of an audience with those who did the reverse. RESULTS: Heart rate and subjective @entity148 measures confirmed anticipatory @entity148 in social phobics who performed their private speech before their public. This was accompanied by enhanced cerebral blood flow in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, @entity550 , and in the left amygdaloid-hippocampal region. Brain blood flow was lower in the left temporal pole and bilaterally in the cerebellum in the anticipation group. CONCLUSIONS: Brain regions with altered perfusion presumably reflect changes in neural activity associated with worry about anticipated public performance. We speculate that anticipatory @entity148 in social phobics originates in an affect sensitive fear network encompassing the amygdaloid-hippocampal region, prefrontal, and temporal areas.
