Superior Temporal Gyrus Volumes in Patients With Social Anxiety Disorder.

Objective

To determine if superior temporal gyrus volumes are altered in patients with a social anxiety disorder.

Methods

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was utilized to determine the superior temporal gyrus volume in 21 patients with a social anxiety disorder and 20 control subjects without a social anxiety disorder. The superior temporal gyrus volumes were measured by manual tracing method. The study was conducted between September 2019 and April 2020.

Results

The mean superior temporal gyrus volume for both sides was statistically significantly smaller than that of control subjects (left side: 11.38 ± 0.85 cm3 for patients and 12.73 ± 0.86 cm3 for controls, t=-5.064, P < .001; right side: 11.42 ± 0.84 mm3 for patients and 12.92 ± 0.85 cm3 for controls, t=-5.574, P < .001). Moreover, when comparing volumetric measurements for subregions, we detected that volumes of all subregions were also statistically significantly smaller than those of healthy comparisons (for both sides of the Heschl's gyrus and planum temporale).

Conclusions

The study findings suggest that patients with social anxiety disorder seem to have smaller superior temporal gyrus volumes compared to healthy control subjects, although we do not know whether these results were in accordance with functional changes of the same region.