New project on social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorder

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) co-occur frequently. Recent findings suggest that there is an impulsive-anxious subtype among individuals with SAD which might account for problematic alcohol use and which is associated with self-reported reward sensitivity and impulsivity. However, no study to date has investigated underlying neural mechanisms regarding this comorbidity. Our project aims to disentangle common and specific behavioral and neural mechanisms of SAD and AUD. As such, we will examine threat reactivity and reward sensitivity with respect to cognitive control functions and decision making.

The project “Common and specific mechanisms of social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorder" is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.