Advancing clinical neuroscience through enhanced tools: Pediatric social anxiety as an example

• Published in: Depression and anxiety Vol. 36; no. 8; pp. 701 - 711
• Main Authors: Smith, Ashley R., Kircanski, Katharina, Brotman, Melissa A., Do, Quyen B., Subar, Anni R., Silk, Jennifer S., Engel, Scott, Crosby, Ross D., Harrewijn, Anita, White, Lauren K., Haller, Simone P., Cardinale, Elise M., Buzzell, George A., Barker, Tyson, Leibenluft, Ellen, Pine, Daniel S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Hindawi Limited 01.08.2019
• Subjects: Adolescent; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Cortex (cingulate); ecological momentary assessment; Fear - physiology; Fear - psychology; Female; Frontal gyrus; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Mood; Nervous system; Neuroimaging; Pediatrics; Phobia, Social - diagnosis; Phobia, Social - physiopathology; Phobia, Social - psychology; Smartphone; Smartphones; Social anxiety; Social interactions; social phobia; Teenagers; anxiety; adolescent; social phobia; ecological momentary assessment; neuroimaging
• ISSN: 1091-4269; 1520-6394; 1520-6394
• DOI: 10.1002/da.22937

Background Clinical researchers face challenges when trying to quantify diverse processes engaged during social interactions. We report results from two studies, each demonstrating the potential utility of tools for examining processes engaged during social interactions. Method In the first study, youth (n = 57) used a smartphone‐based tool to rate mood and responses to social events. A subset (n = 20) completed the second, functional magnetic resonance imaging study. This second study related anxiety to error‐evoked brain responses in two social conditions—while being observed and when alone. We also combined these tools to bridge clinical, social‐contextual, and neural levels of measurement. Results Results from the first study showed an association between negatively‐perceived social experiences and a range of negative emotions. In the second study there was a positive correlation during error monitoring between social‐anxiety severity and context‐specific activation of the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. Finally, during imaging, the perceived quality of peer interactions as assessed using the smartphone‐based tool, interacted with social context to predict levels of activation in the hippocampus and superior frontal gyrus. Conclusions By improving measurement, enhanced tools may provide new means for studying relationships among anxiety, brain function, and social interactions.