TY - JOUR T1 - Increased Serotonin and Dopamine Transporter Binding in Psychotropic Medication–Naïve Patients with Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder Shown by <sup>123</sup>I-β-(4-Iodophenyl)-Tropane SPECT JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO - J Nucl Med SP - 757 LP - 763 DO - 10.2967/jnumed.107.045518 VL - 49 IS - 5 AU - Nic J. van der Wee AU - J. Frederieke van Veen AU - Henk Stevens AU - Irene M. van Vliet AU - Peter P. van Rijk AU - Herman G. Westenberg Y1 - 2008/05/01 UR - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/49/5/757.abstract N2 - There is circumstantial evidence for the involvement of serotonergic and dopaminergic systems in the pathophysiology of social anxiety disorder. In the present study, using SPECT imaging we examined the 123I-β-(4-iodophenyl)-tropane binding potential for the serotonin and dopamine transporters in patients with a generalized social anxiety disorder and in age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Methods: Twelve psychotropic medication–naïve patients with social anxiety disorder, generalized type (5 women and 7 men) and 12 sex- and age-matched healthy controls were studied. Volumes of interest were constructed on MRI-coregistered SPECT scans. Binding ratios were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test. Possible correlations between binding patterns and symptomatology were assessed using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Results: Significantly higher binding potentials were found for the serotonin in the left and right thalamus of patients. Patients had also a significantly higher binding potential for the dopamine transporter in the striatum. Conclusion: The present study provided direct evidence for abnormalities in both the dopaminergic and the serotonergic systems in patients with generalized social anxiety disorder. ER -