In a new study, researchers found that psychotherapy could help treat panic disorder and social anxiety effectively.
They found important brain mechanisms for the effects of psychotherapy on these mental problems.
The research was conducted by a group from multiple universities in Germany.
Previous research has shown that people with panic disorder often suffer from other mental disorders, especially social anxiety disorder.
Panic disorder is linked to issues in the defensive system network, which is crucial in social anxiety due to the high relevance of detecting social cues.
Research also has shown that fear conditioning is important for the development, maintenance and treatment of anxiety disorders via Cognitive Behavior Therapy, or CBT.
It involves several neural pathways that have been related to panic disorder and social anxiety.
In the current study, the team examined if CBT specifically tailored to target panic disorder also could help treat social anxiety.
They found that CBT should modulate the recognition of social cues and thus reduce social anxiety symptoms.
In addition, CBT could reduce the activation of the defensive system.
It is an effective way to cut the symptoms of panic disorder and d social anxiety.
The lead author of the study is Seeger F. from Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg.
The study is published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.
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