Project 467047

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is one of the most common mental health disorders in Canada. SAD is characterized by an intense, debilitating fear and/or avoidance of social situations. Currently available treatments for SAD include medications and psychotherapy, however, these treatments do not work for more than one third of patients.An emerging idea in the field of SAD research is that the brain system that responds to cannabis-like substances, called the endocannabinoid system (ECS), may be involved. Changes in the ECS have been linked to mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Brain imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET), can be used to visualize the activity of different biological systems in the brain to find new biological mechanisms and inform the development of new and more effective treatments. This ground-breaking study will use PET imaging to visualize the enzyme that regulates a substance within the ECS called anandamide (AEA). This enzyme is fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), and it is thought to be elevated in individuals suffering from SAD. As such, blocking this enzyme to cause a natural increase in ESC activity has become a favorable therapeutic strategy. This study aims to help better understand the role of the ECS in SAD, visualize differences in FAAH levels in the brain of individuals with SAD and healthy individuals, and determine if FAAH levels in the brain are linked to severity of SAD. This study is clinically relevant, as the results will provide direct evidence on how the brain ECS is regulated in individuals with SAD. It will inform the development of novel and specific treatments targeting the ECS for patients suffering from this isolating and debilitating mental health condition.