Largescale Brain Network Alterations In Young Individuals With Comorbid Social Anxiety And Depression Evidence From Restingstate Eeg Spectral And Microstate Analyses Ye Yang by Ye Yang instant download after payment.

ABSTRACTKeywords:Social anxiety and depression have each been linked to alterations in large-scale brain network connectivity, yet Social anxietythe neural mechanisms underlying their comorbidity remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we analyzed Depressionresting-state EEG data from 420 young adults classified as healthy controls (HC), individuals with social anxiety EEG spectral analysiswithout depression (SA-noDp), and those with comorbid social anxiety and depression (SA-Dp). Social anxiety EEG microstatesand depressive symptoms were assessed using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) and the Patient Health ComorbidityQuestionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), respectively. We applied both spectral and microstate analyses to characterize largescale brain network dynamics during eyes-open resting-state. Spectral analysis revealed reduced delta amplitude in the SA-Dp group relative to HC (p < .05), suggesting that decreased delta may be a neural marker of SADp and diminished approach motivation. Microstate analysis showed reduced microstate F in SA-noDp relative to HC, while SA-Dp exhibited higher occurrence than SA-noDp despite lower delta activity, indicating a shift from anxiety-related vigilance to depression-related maladaptive self-focus linked to DMN activity. Additionally, SAnoDp displayed reduced transitions between microstates C to F or G relative to HC (all ps < 0.05). These findings reveal differential disruptions in resting-state brain dynamics in social anxiety with and without comorbid depression, highlighting diminished approach and elevated avoidance motivation in comorbid individuals versus predominantly elevated avoidance in non-comorbid social anxiety. Together, spectral and microstate measures may serve as neurobiological markers for comorbid social anxiety and depression, supporting early identification and tailored interventions, and emphasizing the importan