Alterations of Default Mode Network Effective Connectivity in Youth With Social Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

Background: Often emerging in early adolescence, social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a mental health condition characterized by persistent fears of negative evaluation. Neuroimaging studies implicate disruptions in the default mode network (DMN) in SAD; however, it remains unclear whether specific DMN regions drive broader network alterations during this developmental period. Methods: Thirty-six adolescents and young adults (ages 16–25 years) with SAD and 67 age- and gender-matched control participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Using spectral dynamic causal modeling, we examined effective connectivity between core DMN nodes, including the medial prefrontal c..