Altered gray matter volume and structural co-variance in adolescents with social anxiety disorder: evidence for a delayed and unsynchronized development of the fronto-limbic system.

These findings provide the first evidence that the brain structural deficits in adolescents with SAD are not only in the core regions of the fronto-limbic system, but also represented by the diminished coordination in the development of these regions. The delayed and unsynchronized development pattern of the fronto-limbic system supports SAD as an adolescent-sensitive developmental mental disorder.