Dutch researcher Dr. Van der Wee of the Leiden University Medical Center has found biochemical differences in the brains of people with social anxiety disorder (SAD) - an indication that there is at least a partial biological cause for the disorder.
The recent study, published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, compared the brain activity of 12 people with SAD and 12 people without the disorder. Findings showed differences in the density of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters responsible for moving signals in the brain.
It seems the only question that remains is the age-old chicken and egg dilemma. If the brains of people with SAD differ, is this the cause of SAD, or is it a result of the effects of the disorder? I suppose only additional research can give us the answer to this riddle.
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